Kingdoms
by Writer25
Summary: Please read description inside
1. Summary

In the land of Syrania Joe, the Warp Wizard must learn how to fit into a magic society where time travelers are looked down on. Fred, a soldier in the Syranian army, and Sam, an inventor, are his two best friends and try to make his life easier while trying to keep the peace in their own lives.

Has no relation to my other stories. Sort of similar to The Paths We Choose but much better and different.


	2. Chapter 1

Joe had been travelling for two months now. That's how long it took to travel from Brooklyn, New York to Mercine, Iccacine and then to Syrania. On the way he had to prevent potential wars, keep important people from being killed too early, and all around political stuff. Just another day in the life of a warp wizard. Tonight was different though. It was his 19th birthday and he and his three best friends were celebrating. They were still on the ship and wouldn't dock until tomorrow morning, but they didn't feel like waiting.

Joe gave a sigh of content and leaned back in his seat. He was glad that his pants were made of brown velvet because his stomach was full. Fred was still picking the last of the steak out of his teeth. For the first time in weeks he was in his civilian clothes instead of his soldier's uniform. Sam was also in street clothes but he wasn't stretched out like the other two. Instead he repeatedly glanced nervously at his pocket watch.

"Guys," He said for about the fifth time. "It's after 1 am. The Captain said we'll be docking at 8 am."

"And?" Fred put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

"And," Sam rolled his eyes. "We're going to be meeting the queen tomorrow. Don't you think that we should get to bed?"

"You sound like my mom." Joe laughed and felt a small tug at his heart. He hadn't really spent time with his mother or his little sister Anna in over 6 months. The only family he did get to see was his father and his uncle Joe.

"Ugh, it's from being married." Fred threw his arms up in disgust. "It sucked out what little fun was left in you."

"It has nothing to do with being married, Fred." Sam took another sip of his drink. "I only saw her once and that was almost a year ago."

"I still can't believe you went through with it." Joe said. "You barely know her. Do you even like her?"

Sam shrugged, still not really sure of the answer himself. The girl, San-Li had been a good friend of the queen since childhood. And then tragedy struck. San-Li had married when she was 17 and then less than six months later her husband was killed in the War Against Shadows. San-Li had been left widowed and a rumor was even circulating that she was pregnant. To top it all off her father had disappeared leaving her with a 7 year old little brother.

Sam had felt sorry for her. It was as simple as that. So when Queen Joleena came to him saying that she was worried about one of her best friends, Sam had out right said that he'd marry her. So the wedding ceremony took place, vows and rings exchanged, and a fancy dinner was thrown in their honor. San-Li had been almost silent during everything and right after the dinner Sam got an emergency call and had to leave before they could...you know.

"Well?" Joe interrupted his train of thought. "Do you at least like her?"

"She is kinda cute." Fred put in wagging his eyebrows.

"I barely spent any time with her." Sam mumbled sinking into his seat. "But if the queen is such good friends with her, she can't be too bad."

"I still can't believe you went through with it!." Joe said. "You were only 18!"

Sam gave him a weird look. "You do realize that you're probably going to have to get married in the next year or so right?"

Joe and Fred started choking simultaneously.

"W-w-what?" Joe freaked out.

"I thought that he was just going to get integrated into the rest of magic society or whatever." Fred added.

"How do you think that happens?" Sam switched to his all too familiar, superior voice. "You marry someone already in the society. Duh."

"So let me get this straight," Joe started getting angry. "I'm travelling all this way…just to get married?"

Sam shook his head. "Of course not. I'm just saying though that in another year or so you probably will."

"Glad I'm just a soldier." Fred mumbled. "No one's gonna make me get married anytime soon."

"Well, this has been fun but," Joe stood up and stretched. "I'm going to bed now. Night guys."

"Sleep sounds good." Fred yawned and left too.

Sam said good night and left for his room too. Once he got into bed though he couldn't sleep. He just lay there and twisted the silver wedding band around his finger. The wedding seemed so distant now that it was more like a weird dream than what was supposed to be the most important day of his life. He didn't regret it though.

"_You have to do this for me," She had said. "Please, she's my friend."_

"_Joleena, please don't ask me to do this." Sam had whispered. He gently moved a strand of hair out of her face. "I can't because I-" _

_He had almost told her then and there that he was in love with her, but he chickened out._

"_I can't do this because I barely know her." He finished instead._

"_She's really great," Joleena said excitedly. "I just know that you two will get along. Please?"_

Sam smiled to himself remembering. He knew that he and Joleena could never be together. She was a queen and he was just an inventor who worked part time in various space units. So as a way to stay close to her, he had said yes and married her best friend.

Sam took his wedding ring off and placed it on the bedside table next to his glasses. He wasn't just going to let this marriage be in vain though. He had taken a vow to love and honor San-Li forever and that was exactly what he was going to do. He just hoped that she felt the same way.


	3. Chapter 2

Joleena sat in her bedchamber, putting the finishing touches on her hair. A maid stood nearby in case she wanted something, but Joleena still liked to do things on her own. As she worked she hummed to herself and looked at her friends' reflections in the mirror. Fina was sitting on her bed in a light blue summer dress, playing with her long, white-blond braid. Joleena had met Fina five years ago when they were 13 and 11 with Joleena being two years older than her. That didn't stop them from becoming fast friends though. Fina was really shy and quiet but warmed up a lot with Joleena's help. When she became queen Fina was one of the very first people that Joleena picked to be a lady in waiting and the only other one allowed in her inner circle. Joleena always felt a little nervous when The Council, a group of magical elders who ruled with Joleena until they felt she was ready to rule on her own, talked about Fina getting married.

Joleena's gaze shifted to her other best friend San-Li who was sitting sideways in a chair. Where Fina was light, sweet, blond, and quiet, San-Li was pretty much the opposite. Hair so black that it almost looked blue, even darker midnight black eyes and a dark sense of humor was what made up San-Li. She had recently married a good friend of Joleena's, but never acted like a newly wedded wife waiting for her husband to return. As a matter of fact, half the time Joleena had to remind San-Li to put on her wedding band. She wondered if she had made a mistake asking Sam to marry her.

"Sam's coming back today." Joleena ventured.

Fina's head came up, but all San-Li did was flick her eyes in Joleena's direction.

"He wrote me." She said indifferently.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Joleena eyed San-Li's outfit.

She had on her usual flowing black pants and blue kimono style blouse with twisting silver vines on it. Not really something a wife would put on to meet her husband.

San-Li gave her familiar smirk. "Should I be wearing lingerie? We missed our official wedding night."

Fina and the maid both blushed a deep red and Joleena burst out laughing.

"Um, your Highness," a different maid peered around the door. "The guards just spotted the warp wizard's ship at the front dock."

"Send them into the receiving chamber," Joleena called over her shoulder. "I'll be out in a minute."

* * *

><p>After they docked and thanked the Captain, the trio was shown into the queen's receiving room. It was large and ornate and yet somehow comfortable and friendly. Large windows looked out into the gardens below and there were plenty of soft couches and chairs to sit in.<p>

"So when is the queen coming?" Fred grumbled.

"In a minute." Sam shushed him. "She tends to spend a lot of time getting ready."

Inside though Sam was nervous and impatient too. San-Li was most likely with the queen and Sam was unsure about how she would react to him. Would she be happy? Excited? Did she already have her baby? The rumor had never been confirmed but Sam still wondered. Or would his new wife be disappointed that he came back?

Sam was still trying to calm himself when a man in colorful clothing walked in and stood in front of them. Sweeping his arm in a grand gesture he called out in a loud voice, "Her Highness Queen Joleena has arrived!"

Everyone in the room sank down to their knees as Joleena glided into the room with Fina and San-Li a few steps behind her. Joleena sat in the largest and most ornate chair and her two friends sat on smaller chairs a little below her. Everybody stayed bowed until Joleena gave them the signal they could get up again.

"Warp Wizard Joe," she said extending her hand out to him. "It's good to see you."

Joe walked up and kissed her hand, while Sam tried to catch San-Li's eye. When she did finally look at him, he smiled at her but she only gave the slightest nod in return. Sam felt his heart sink. Was she only playing it cool so she wouldn't seem too eager?

"Sam," Joleena said happily. "I'm glad your back."

Sam stepped up to kiss her hand. "I'm glad to be back your highness."

Joleena smiled and he felt that familiar flutter in his stomach.

"I'm sure you want reunite with your _gushing_ bride now," Joleena said with a significant glance at San-Li. "Warp Wizard Joe, I want to show you something."

Joleena left her throne and led Joe through a different door. Some of the court followed them, including Fred and Fina. San-Li glanced out of the window and Sam felt awkward. This was going nothing like he had pictured.

"You look beautiful." He said.

"Thank you." Came an indifferent response.

Sam sighed and San-Li stood up. He perked up wondering if she was going to finally say something to him. Instead she just brushed by him and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"Gotta pick up my brother from school."

"I'll go with you."

"**No!**"

The word came out so sharply that Sam jumped and several heads turned their way.

"I mean," she turned towards him with a small smile. A small, indifferent smile. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'm sure you're tired."

"Oh," Sam sighed. "Alright."

* * *

><p>San-Li reigned the horse to a stop in front of the academy. Her little brother rushed over to her as soon as he saw her. She smiled at her young brother and made the horse lay down so that he could get on.<p>

"Hey little bro," San-Li smiled. "how was class?"

"Awesome!" Alex clutched her tightly had the horse started to move. "We learned about using nuclear physics and all of the ancient kings and..."

San-Li only halfway listened to her genius brother's long drabble about school. Usually she tried to pay attention but her mind was on other things. Alex knew she had gotten married, in fact he had been the ring bearer. No, the problem was that San-Li promised her brother that her marriage wouldn't change anything. San-Li had honestly thought that the marriage would be in form only. She expected Sam to be away for a few years at a time, leaving her and her brother in peace. Without really realizing it, San-Li ran her fingers through her hair, tucking it behind one ear. Alex suddenly fell silent behind her.

"What?" she asked him.

"He's here, isn't he?" Alex grumbled.

San-Li didn't say anything for a minute. "What makes you say that?"

"You're wearing your wedding rings."

That stopped San-Li for a second. Alex was annoyingly perceptive for an eight year old.

"Yes, he's here." she said at last.

"And his he going to live with us?"

"Technically, it's his place."

That was something that irked San-Li to no end. Now that she was married and was taking care of Alex, she had to move out of Joleena's room and into apartments of her own. Only, they weren't really hers per se, in reality it, and all of her money, belonged to Sam. Alex was still pestering her with questions.

"And are you two going to have a baby?"

"What?" The question caught her completely off guard. "What in Aria's name would make you say that?"

"Well, my friend Smithen said that when his older sister got married, they had twins and all they do is cry and poop and stuff!"

San-Li laughed until she couldn't breath and soon Alex was laughing too.

"Alex, let me tell you something," San-Li smiled and turned towards her brother. "The very last thing that's going to happen is me and Sam having a baby, right next to him getting in between the two of us."

* * *

><p>"Thank you." Sam said to the maid after she finished unpacking his things.<p>

"If there is anything else I can do for you, just ring sir." The maid bowed and left.

Sam stood alone in the living room, feeling strangely awkward in San-Li's apartment. Technically, it was his apartment but San-Li and her little brother had been living here for a year without him. Sam wondered how they would feel about his suddenly being here. There was actually something else that bothered him. Did San-Li ever have a baby? So far, no one congratulated him on being a father or mentioned a child what so ever.

He walked through the rooms, trying to get a feel for things and see if there was any evidence of a baby. The living room contained a couch and strangely a large T.V. Syrania wasn't supposed to have extensive electricity, but San-Li may have had her own generator. There was a small kitchen, but that looked like it was hardly ever used. Sam walked passed the closet and the bathroom and stopped at the end of the hallway. There were only two bedrooms. Sam took a breath and tried the one on the right first.

"This must be Alex's room." He mumbled to himself.

The bed was neat but the rest of the room was completely messy. There were model ships, planes, boats, and spare parts strewn all over the floor. There were also drawings and posters of technical diagrams, space ships, and planets on the wall. A small bookshelf full of books of varying sizes sat in the corner. There was no evidence of a baby.

Sam closed the door, took a deep breath, and went into the last bedroom. This room was completely messy. Cloths, books, magazines, and papers were littered everywhere. There was also a large king sized bed that suddenly seemed small to Sam. The maid said that she had put his clothes in the wardrobe and in the dresser. His laptop and books were in his large carrying bag and on the bed like he requested. He would go into town tomorrow and see about getting a desk.

Sighing, he sat on the bed and tried to imagine living here, sleeping in the same room with San-Li and being a brother-in-law to Alex. Judging by his wife's response earlier, things definitely weren't going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 3

Fina was glad to finally get a chance to sit down. She was currently in the queen's sitting room, playing cards with everyone. Everyone being Joleena, the Warp Wizard, Fred, San-Li, and Sam. There were a few other ladies and a few men were scattered in the room, but they weren't really part of Joleena's circle. They had been running around all morning showing the Warp Wizard around the library, where the magic artifacts are, and where he could find her whenever he needed her.

So now they were all back in Joleena's sitting room, playing a game called poker. Fina had never really played before so the blond one, Fred, was helping her along the way.

"Hold back a bit, okay?" He whispered in her ear. "Wait until you get at least another 9 or a 10."

Fina blushed and nodded. She glanced at San-Li and saw her hiding a smirk.

"What?" Fina asked her.

"Nothing." San-Li winked. "Nothing at all."

"Ha! Full house, baby!" Joe exclaimed throwing down his cards.

He started to reach for the small pile of gold and jewels in the middle of the table but Joleena blocked his hand with her own.

"Uh,uh,uh," She taunted. "Royal Flush."

Everyone groaned as Joleena collected all of their money.

"Come on, let's go again." San-Li said reshuffling the deck.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Sam said putting a hand on her shoulder. "We already lost about 2100 rubents."

"We?" San-Li mumbled angrily.

She was close to telling him off and that it was _her _money not his when she caught Joleena looking at them.

"One more game won't hurt." She said instead.

Sam sighed and mumbled okay and San-Li dealt out the cards. Fina watched them and wondered what it was like to be married. All the time that San-Li had been married to Sam, she didn't talk about him much. She didn't talk about it at all actually.

"Hey you have four jacks," Fred said in her ear again making her blush.

"Is-is that good?" she whispered back.

Fred nodded. "How much money do you want to bet?"

"Ugh," Fina thought. Joleena paid her about 10,000 rubents a month and she never really bought anything special. "300 rubents?"

"500 rubents."

"550 rubents."

"600 rubents."

One by one everyone placed their bets each increasing the amount of rubents and then it was San-Li's turn. She looked down at her cards and smirked.

"3000 rubents." she said.

Sam looked hard at her and sighed. "I fold."

"Ditto." Fred said with a wink at Fina.

Joe put one of his cards down and picked up and another one. Fina saw the barest trace of a smile on his face before it cleared it.

"umm, how about, I don't know...4000 rubents?" he said.

Everyone turned to Joleena who made no effort to hide her smile. "5000 rubents."

It was Fina's turn again. She looked to Fred for help. He leaned over and whispered in her ear again.

"5500 rubents?" she said.

Joe looked at Fina closely. "Fold."

San-Li bit her lower lip and first time in the game looked worried. "5550 rubents."

"Its your turn, your Highness." Joe said.

"Okay, 6000 rubents," Joleena said. "And for the fifth time call me Joleena when its just us. Your turn San-Li."

"7000 rubents." San-Li said after she changed a card out.

Joleena sighed and folded.

"Full house." San-Li said smugly.

"Uh, four of a kind." Fina said.

"Alright!" Fred shouted.

"Queen Joleena!" A voice said sharply behind them.

Joleena took her time standing up and the rest scrambled to stand up too. She glared coldly at the four figures standing behind her. Three of them wore thick gray and silver robes over their clothes with the emblem SC on the throats. The three head members Syranian council. Two of them were men, one was thick and burly with black hair and a trim beard while the other one was kind of fat with a bald head and a flowing red beard. The woman nearly towered over Joleena and was as almost thickly built as the man. Her hair was a steely gray and pulled back into a tight bun. The fourth man wasn't wearing a robe and he stood a little behind the man with the black beard. He was skinny with a weasel like face and looked both greasy and sneaky.

"Your highness." Her toned softened as she and the other men bowed before Joleena.

"Yes, Madame Moraine?" Joleena said coldly.

"Its just that there is so much work we need to get done in order to get ready for the Starlight festival." Madame Moraine said. "It is only two months away, and I don't think you should be wasting your time...playing cards."

Joleena sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Alright then."

As she left the room everyone stood and bowed deeply to her.

"So," San-Li said with a smirk. "Wanna play again?"

* * *

><p>They were all sitting by the fire side lounging after dinner. In three hours and 7 card games, San-Li had won back every single rubent that she had lost, plus 40000 more. Joleena was also back with them writing in a small, leather bound book while Fina and some other ladies sewed shirts and blankets for the poor. Fred , Sam, and Joe were just lazing around while San-Li helped her younger brother build a model F-1 fighter jet.<p>

"Do you guys need any help?" Sam asked.

"No." they both answered at the same time.

"Are you sure?" Sam pressed. "I kinda do that stuff for a living."

That made Alex look up and almost interested until he received a look from his sister. "No thank you."

Sam sighed and looked defeated. "Alright."

He took a look at the clock, it was almost 9:30.

"Shouldn't we be getting Alex to bed?" He suggested meekly. "I mean, doesn't he have to get to school in the morning?"

Joleena and Fina's heads snapped up as they watched San-Li's reaction. They knew that the one thing that San-Li hated, above all else, was someone telling her what to do with her brother. San-Li seemed to freeze before she slowly raised her head and fixed Sam with a hard, stare. But the unexpected reaction came from Alex.

"Actually," he said slowly. "My teacher was think about giving us a morning quiz tomorrow."

San-Li stared in surprise at her brother while Sam grinned.

* * *

><p>"He was right." Alex explained to his sister when they got home.<p>

Instead of answering she pulled the covers over him and kissed him on the forehead.

"We learned in health class that an adequate nights sleep helps the neurons in your brain react faster." Alex whined.

"Get some sleep then." San-Li threw a smile over her shoulder before turning out the light and closing the door.

San-Li then took a quick shower and hurried back into her room to change her clothes.

"Don't be stupid!" she mumbled to herself. "He's just some nerdy, loser. What is there to be afraid of ?"

Despite this, she quickly changed her clothes, and turned out the light. She hoped that laying completely on one side of the bed would give Sam the hint that absolutely _nothing_ was going to happen. She was actually drifting off to sleep when she heard the bed room door open and close. She kept her eyes shut and made sure that her breathing remained steady.

There was the rustling of clothing, the opening and shutting of the dresser, and then San-Li felt the covers shift as Sam slid into the bed.

_He's not gonna try it._ San-Li reassured herself as she tried to go back to sleep. _He's not gonna try to do anythin-_

San-Li froze and her eyes snapped open as she felt Sam's arm snake its way around her waist and he pulled himself closer to her.

"What the hell do you think your doing ?" She snapped making no attempt to conceal her anger. She sat up and turned on the side lamp.

Sam looked at her with shock written all over his face. "B-b-but, we're married and I thought..."

"Thought that what?" San-Li struggled not to yell and wake her brother. "That just because you went to my best friend, that gives you the right to try to get into my pants?"

"N-no!" Sam exclaimed. "That's not it at all!"

"Or are you just trying to get in good with the queen?" she put all the venom and ice she could in her voice.

"N-No, I married you because-"

"Listen carefully." San-Li hissed. "The only reason I agreed was to get the Council off my back and so I wouldn't end up marrying some complete creep who would try to get 10 kids off of me. But we are not, never have been, and never will be husband and wife other than on paper. Got it?"

Sam said nothing, just stared at her open mouthed. She glared at him a minute longer before turning out the light and pulling the blankets over her head. After a while, she felt him get out of the bed and heard the door open and close. She should have felt proud of herself, she had just told off the presumptuous, perverted, but..sort of nice...

"Idiot." San-Li mumbled and buried her face into her pillow, trying to hold back tears.

**A/N- I felt like making up a currency for Syrania. A rubent is about $2 so 2100 rubents is about $1050. Also, a drink shop is sort of a mix between a tavern and a bar because never one of them sounded magical enough to me. Its just a place where you can buy different kinds of drinks, not all of them alcoholic, eat snacks, and socialize. **


	5. Chapter 4

Clarissa sighed and wiped her eyes on the embroidery she was sewing. Fina looked at her sadly and then looked at Joleena. She looked back at Fina but then just sadly shook her head. It was then that the Warp Wizard and his friends entered the sitting room. Even though she knew that she shouldn't Fina couldn't help but looking up and meeting Fred's eyes. He smiled at her briefly, but didn't sit next to her, instead he sat next to some other guys setting up the card table.

Fina expected this. Despite the fact that she and Fred had become good friends over the first three weeks that he had spent in Syrania, they haven't spoken to each other in over a week. They both figured life was easier that way. It had all started last week with Clarissa bursting into the Queen's chambers and begging for help. It turns out that Clarissa had fallen in love with one of the soldiers and he claimed to love her in return. However, Clarissa was the daughter of Lord Maxwell and he forbade to marry his daughter to anyone but a man of equal or higher rank. Joleena had tried to plead Clarissa's case, but the Council over ruled her in favor of an arranged marriage. So now Clarissa was going to marry some man she didn't love, and her soldier would probably end up alone and miserable. Fred and Fina weren't involved romantically, but they figured that it was better not to draw attention to themselves.

"Hey." Someone sat next to her, breaking into her thoughts.

Fina turned and smiled at the Warp Wizard.. "Hello, how was your trip?"

"Exhausting." Joe groaned and slumped in his seat. "They had me running around like crazy."

"I told you so," Fina said smugly. "People don't get much sleep in Merka."

Joe rolled his eyes. "So what're you working on?"

Fina smiled and held out the cloth she was embroidering. So far, a green field stretched across the bottom with white and yellow daises dotted everywhere. Right now Fina was halfway done stitching in an old fashion house.

"Its where I grew up," Fina explained. "It lays just outside of Syrania."

"It looks nice," Joe complimented. "You ever think about going back there?"

"Not really, I love being here with Joleena and San-Li."

"What about just for a weekend? Like just you and a friend?"

She looked up and noticed that he was closer to her than she realized. Fina felt her cheeks grow warm and she turned away blushing. Joe chuckled and tugged on as strand of her hair.

"You really are a sweet girl, aren't you?" He said in a low voice.

"That's just what she wants you to believe," A voice said behind them. "And then she steals your soul."

They both turned to see San-Li standing behind them with a knowing smile on her face. Fina smiled and said the one thing that she knew would agitate San-Li the most.

"Hey, San-Li," she smiled. "Where's your husband?"

* * *

><p>San-Li felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Ever since the little <em>problem<em> that they had the first night, Sam hadn't been back since. It wasn't that she missed the dork, but now Joleena was starting to give her weird looks whenever Sam merely gave San-Li a curt nod whenever he had to be near her.

"Around." Sam-Li answered shortly.

Great, now the Warp Wizard was giving her a weird look. It wasn't surprising though, he and Sam were best friends after all, Sam probably told him everything that was going on between them. The smell of roses filled the room as Joleena swept into the room, followed by the burly, dark haired council member and the weaselly man that always followed him.

"Council man Derando," Joleena turned to him. "Would you like to go horse back riding with us?"

"It would be my honor your highness." He bowed deeply to her. "But first I must ask you about..."

While they talked about business, Derando's under man walked up to Fina and San-Li. His eyes traveled over them in a way that made Fina cringe and San-Li glare. He barely glanced at Joe.

"Ah, the lovely ladies in waiting of her beautiful highness Queen Joleena." He said.

He grabbed San-Li's hand was about to bend over and kiss it when he spotted her wedding ring and stopped.

"Ah," He said, disappointment clear in his voice, "The newly _married_ lady in waiting. But you..." He now turned to Fina and grabbed her hand instead, "You are not married yet, no?"

Without waiting for answer he kissed her hand and kept his lips there until Fina felt thoroughly uncomfortable. It was an open secret that Derando's slimy henchman would give anything to marry one of them and since San-Li was now out of the picture...

"Sir Weister," Joe's face was like thunder as he wrapped his arm around Fina's waist and physically pulled her away from Weister. "You must excuse us now, the queen invited us to go horse back riding with her."

He leaned over and kissed Fina firmly on the top of her head. "I'll see you in a little while."

"Well, um, I guess I'll be going now." Weister had suddenly become nervous and backed away from San-Li and Fina.

San-Li was just going into the stables to get her horse geared up when she saw Sam already getting his horse ready. She took a breath and walked over to him hating what she was about to do.

"Hey." she said.

He barely glanced at her. "Hey."

"I'm sorry for that night."

This time Sam did look at her but his frosty look barely thawed.

"Listen Sam," San-Li sighed. "Let's not pretend that this marriage is something that it isn't. You married me because you felt sorry for me and I agreed because it was convenient."

She paused, waiting for him to either accept or reject what she was saying. At first it looked like Sam was going to disagree with her, but then she saw the resignation in his eyes and he nodded.

"So, do we...divorce?" Sam asked sadly.

"No," San-Li shook her head and lowered her voice. "For two reasons; there is no such thing as divorce in Syrania and two it would ruin Joleena's reputation. This was actually the first marriage that Joleena put together herself and if it doesn't work out, her credibility will be shot. Besides, it would probably hurt her."

"So what do we do?" Sam helped her put the saddle on her horse and adjusted the reins for her.

"We're gonna have to fake it." San-Li said as she started to lead her horse outside with Sam following her. "Whenever we're in the public eye, we act like husband and wife but when its just us..."

"We act like roommates." Sam finished for her.

Suddenly, Sam grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto the horse making her cry out in surprise.

"Dude! What the-"

"Sam! San-Li!" Joleena rode up next to them. "I'm so glad you too are getting along now."

Sam winked at San-Li behind Joleena's back.


	6. Chapter 5

"Really?" Joe asked incredulous.

He, Sam, and Fred were sitting in a drink shop a little ways outside of the palace grounds. Sam took another sip of his drink and nodded sadly.

"Yeah, she doesn't even want to try acting like a couple, just whenever someone semi-important is watching us."

"Well that sucks." Joe said.

"What did you expect?" Fred shook his head. "You barely knew her, she barely knew you. By the way, YOU WERE ONLY 18!"

Sam mumbled something under his breath and ordered another drink. The drink master set a shot glass down filled with a fizzy blue liquid. Sam nearly drunk half of it in one gulp.

"Hey, slow down man." Joe put a hand on his shoulder. "We still have to go back to Syrania. You know how the queen feels about drinking."

"I'm not drunk," Sam mumbled looking bleary. "I'm miserable."

"Why ?" Fred took a long drink. "Like you said, you guys only have to pretend when important people around. No commitment, no problem."

"Fred..." Joe shook his head.

"Maybe I did want a relationship with her." Sam said quietly. "Maybe I did want a real relationship. Maybe I did want a wife and start a family."

Fred sighed and laid a hand on his shoulder and Joe tried to feel bad, but he kinda had his mind on other things. Weister was a creep, there was no doubt about that. What really bothered Joe though was how he looked at Fina. Weister's eyes seemed to look at every part of Fina but her face. Joe had also caught Weister talking to Council Man Derando about Fina getting married.

"_She is sixteen, my lord." Weister had said. "Most girls get married at her age. Some before."_

Joe snapped out of his thoughts when Fred nudged his shoulder.

"Come on, dude. Let's get out of here."

When they got to the queen's sitting room, Sam wasn't at all surprised to see Joe head straight to where Fina was sitting.

_Lucky jerk. _Sam thought moodily. _Stupid, lucky jerk. _

It seemed almost cruel how the girl Sam married had no feelings for him what so ever, but the first girl that Joe even talks to likes him back. Joe had denied that anything special was going on between them other than the fact that they were just friends, but almost everyone could see that it was more than that. Even Weister was acting more and more anxious than usual.

"Your highness." Sam said halfheartedly and kissed Joleena's hand.

San-Li smiled at him but deep down Sam new it was just because Joleena was there. At home or anywhere else for that matter, San-Li barely looked at Sam. Which was why Sam spent more and more time working in a work shop that Joleena had renovated for his personal use. He ignored San-Li and went to sit by himself on one of the couches.

He turned to San-Li in surprise when he felt her sit next to him. Usually after a smile and a small word to him, San-Li just went ahead and ignored him.

"I haven't seen you around lately." She said. "How's the inventing going?"

"Why? Has anyone been asking questions?" The question came out bitterly without Sam really meaning for it to be.

"If you really want to know the truth," San-Li lowered her voice. "Alex was the one who wanted me to ask. I couldn't care less."

Sam turned away trying not to show the disappointment he felt. The only good thing that had come of his false marriage was Alex. Unlike his older sister, Alex seemed at least willing to make Sam a part of his family and now they were like brothers. But no matter how hard he tried, Sam just couldn't get the same results with San-Li.

"Listen, I've been thinking..."

"Yeah." Against his will, Sam felt some eagerness creep into his voice.

"If you want, you can take a mistress."

"What?" Sam knew that he had to have heard that wrong. Did his _wife_ really just tell him that he could take on a _mistress_? When she just finished telling him not to long ago that they couldn't divorce because it would ruin the queen's reputation?

Sam's face must have shown what he was feeling because she quickly clarified. "As long as no one finds out, of course."

"I have a better idea," Sam's voice came out low, quick, and angry. "How about I stick with the wife that I _married_ who could have refused if she wanted to and we both at least _try _to realize that we are married and we will be for the rest of our lives!"

Without realizing it, Sam's voice had risen so that just enough people could here the anger in his voice. San-Li worriedly glanced around her, gauging everyone's reactions. She laughed loudly, acting like Sam was ranting about something else. On the other side of the room, Joleena stood and everyone stood with her. She summoned her maids as well as San-Li and Fina and bade everyone else a good night.

With only a firm glance to serve as a warning, San-Li stood up and moved to leave with the queen. She was almost halfway across the room when Sam called out to her.

"Hey, San-Li!" Everyone turned in his direction. "Aren't you forgetting something, sweetheart?"

San-Li's eyes narrowed and everyone looked at her expectantly.

"Go ahead." Joleena nodded nonchalantly.

"Yeah," Fina smirked. "Aren't you gonna kiss your beloved husband?"

San-Li took a breath and walked over to Sam, leaning over to just give him a quick peck on the cheek. The instant before her lips touched his cheek he turned and kissed her directly. He felt San-Li go rigid before she slowly pulled away, murder in her eyes.

"I'll see you later." Sam winked.

_Oh, yeah. She's definitely going to kill me now. _


	7. Chapter 6

Joleena stood bristling with excitement as she over saw the decorations of the center courtyard for the Starlight festival that was to take place that night. Instead of using the ballroom to hold the dancers, Joleena instead chose to use the central courtyard which was maybe even bigger than the ballroom. So far the workers had planted red and white roses in between the large, ornate columns and mixed a sweet scented perfume into the fountains.

"Make sure you hang up the glittery silver and gold streamers." Joleena called out to one of the head workers. "But not too many."

"Yes, your highness." The man smiled and bowed to her from the ladder.

"The courtyard looks really beautiful." Fina looked around her.

"I know, doesn't it." Joleena gushed.

Fina smiled while San-Li rolled her eyes.

"I don't get it," She said. "What's so special about the Starlight festival again?"

Joleena gave an exasperated sigh. "It's only the biggest event of the year!"

"People from all over are coming." Fina added.

"So its absolutely important that everything is perfect." Joleena pressed her hands together in worry. "Oh! You there-"

San-Li shook her head as Joleena rushed off to correct a worker who was apparently about to choose the wrong color clothe for the musicians to stand on. "She's gonna bust an artery."

"She can't help it," Fina sighed and watched her best friend. "People are going to see this festival as a reflection of her leadership skills."

San-Li rolled her eyes for the up-tenth time and suddenly noticed something about Fina. Usually Fina stood rocking back and forth on her heels with a somewhat absent expression on her face. But lately she had been standing they way that she had been standing now; turning slightly from side to side with her eyes flitting everywhere. San-Li felt the corners of her mouth turn up, she knew exactly what was on Fina's mind.

"Who you looking for?" San-Li leaned forward, unable to resist. "Mr. Warp Wizard?"

Fina's bright pink face gave her away. "N-n-no!"

"I heard he went out for a bit."

Fina's shoulders dropped slightly.

"But he should be back before lunch time."

Fina's shoulders picked back up. She then turned to San-Li with a smirk. "Where's Sam?"

San-Li's knowing smirk turned into a scowl. Nearly a week had passed since the first time Sam had kissed her in front of everybody and now she did everything in her power to avoid him. At first she wanted to do nothing more than get him alone in order to give payback, but every single time Sam had managed to be somewhere where someone was watching. Not only that, but he had used her advice about acting like a couple in front of others against her. Making her kiss him, putting his arm around her waist or shoulders, and making her sit with him.

"I know what's going on between you two," Fina whispered. "But Sam seems really nice and it could be a lot worse."

San-Li bit her lip and mumbled something under her breath. Fina was right. Sam may have turned her words against her, but he was never mean to her and he didn't try to force her to sleep with him. In fact, the worst thing that he had ever done to her was a simple, gentle kiss on the lips. He was also great with Alex, treating him like his own brother.

Fina smiled and nodded, knowing that she was right. Joleena had a knack for knowing about people, so if she thought that Sam and San-Li was a good match, then San-Li should at least give Sam a chance.

"Boo." A voice whispered in her ear, making her jump.

Fina turned and saw Joe smiling down at her. She laughed and hugged him, loving the way his arms encircled her and held her tightly. She opened her eyes to see San-Li looking at them with a small smirk on her face. Blushing Fina pulled away from Joe and noticed that other people staring as well, all with knowing smiles on their faces.

"So um, how have you been?"

"Fine. Fine."

Joe looked pointedly at San-Li who she grinned broadly, faking ignorance. Joe began to glare at her, but all San-Li did was smile wider and shrug.

"Um, San-Li?" Fina rolled her eyes. "Can you leave us alone for a minute?"

"I could but that might require actual effort."

"Alright fine," Joe put an arm around Fina's shoulder and walked away.

"They make a cute couple, don' you think?"

San-Li turned to see Sam walk up behind her. He was holding several papers and folders in one arm and looked a little disheveled. San-Li shrugged. Joe and Fina _were _cute together, but they seemed almost too polite and formal with each other. She glanced at Sam and noticed that he was carefully avoiding looking at her directly.

"Relax, I decided not to beat you to a pulp today." she said.

"Huh?" Sam jumped and looked so surprised that San-Li struggled to suppressed a laugh.

"N-no, actually, um..." Sam fiddled with his glasses and looked down. "I was actually going to ask you something."

"Well, what is it?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to attend the festival with me?"

San-Li started and looked at him blankly. "I'm expected to go to the dance remember?"

"Not with me," Sam shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I want to know if you would like to go with me. Because you want to, not because its expected."

"But it is expected." San-Li argued, not understanding why she was feeling nervous. "You can't just not show up."

"I'll tell the queen something." Sam shrugged dismissively. "So would you like to go?"

"Okay." The answered surprised them both.

Sam grinned broadly and kissed her hand. "I'll see you later tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>Check out some fanart! I tried putting links but for some reason doesn't let you do that :(. Just go to , search Crazzy8855, click on any one of the pictures, and look at my profile<strong>


	8. Chapter 7

The rest of day seemed to drag on forever as San-Li, Fina, and Joleena were pampered, prodded, and dressed up for the festival.

"Isn't this exciting?" Joleena smiled as the maid sewed on the glittering, gold belt onto her dress. Her entire dress was made of varying shades gold and her hair was swept in an up-do with the back hanging loose.

She of course made San-Li and Fina wear similar, matching dresses. Fina's was white with dark silver designs and short sleeves while San-Li's was black with light silver designs and long sleeves cut low around the shoulders.

It had taken over four hours for them to put the final touches on the dresses, get them on, do their make-up and hair, and then they were finally ready. San-Li shifted her feet and nervously twisted her wedding ring.

"Nervous?" Fina teased and San-Li shot her a dirty look.

"I think its sweet," Joleena said as they left the room. "He asked her to the festival like it was the prom."

"Whatever." San-Li rolled her eyes. She didn't want to give Sam the wrong idea. They may be able to learn to be friends, but they would _never, _under any circumstances become anything more than that. San-Li went through that once, and there was no way that she was going to repeat that mistake.

* * *

><p>Sam nervously twisted his wedding ring around his finger and looked at the clock. It was a quarter after eight and San-Li was due to arrive at any minute. Plenty of people had already arrived, but the queen only arrives right before the really important guests arrived.<p>

There was a blasts of trumpets and everyone turned toward the courtyard entrance. Sam felt his jaw drop. Joleena looked stunning as usual and Fina looked cute too, but it was San-Li who made Sam's heart stop. The moonlight seemed to make her pale skin glow and the jewels embedded into her gown sparkled like the stars themselves.

"Dude, your mouth is hanging open." Joe nudged him with a laugh.

"I've never seen her like this before." Sam whispered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Joe said in a dreamy whisper, staring at Fina.

* * *

><p>Fina smiled as she danced with Joe. He had been sweet and gentlemen-like with her all night. He pulled out the chair for her when they sat down to dinner and made her laugh while Joleena was busy greeting all of the important bishops, dukes, and foreign royalty. And now they were dancing together. There were plenty of other couples around them, but the way Joe held her and looked at her it seemed like they were the only two people in the world. The thought made her feel dizzy and...strange.<p>

"Fina." Joe said in a quiet tone.

"Hm?"

"There's, ah, something that I've been meaning to tell you..."

"What is it Joe?"

"Fina, I um... I just wanted to say that I..."

Fina waited with a confusing mix of emotions. She liked Joe a lot and wanted to keep seeing him, but...she also liked where their relationship was now. What if Joe wanted something more? What if she wanted the same thing...but not so soon. But, maybe she did...

"Joe, I..." Fina's voice trailed off as she spotted something over Joe's shoulder. "I'll be right back."

Fina walked away from a very confused Joe and headed towards the gardens. She looked around and spotted a blond head turn a corner. Fina felt her heart speed up as she followed him. His head stayed just ahead of her and now she could hear voices. Suddenly, Fina ducked behind a tree before they could see her. But she saw them. Fred...with a girl...Jennifer. Otherwise known as Loose Jennifer. Fina felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched them kiss. Without another word, Fina turned away from them, and ran deep into the darkness of the gardens.

* * *

><p>Fred was drunk and he knew it. He didn't even mean to be at the stupid festival, but the next thing he knew he was there. He looked around the dining room and then he saw her; perfect golden blond hair, eyes like the sky, and a smile to rival the sun itself. Fred knew that he shouldn't even try it, but obviously his feet didn't get the message because they went right over to Fina. And then it happened. Before Fred could say a word to her, Joe stepped up to her and kissed her hand and whispered something in her ear. Fred couldn't hear what he said, but he knew it had to be a compliment because Fina's cheeks turned pink.<p>

After that it was glass after glass, drink after drink. For once in his life Fred didn't even touch his food. All he could do was sit and watch and drink. He knew he had no right to be jealous of Joe and Fina. Joe had been his best friend for his whole life and Fina had never been anything than just a friend. But that couldn't stop that pain Fred was in and he just needed a distraction. The alcohol made everything bleary but couldn't erase the emotions completely. He needed more.

In all honesty he was just about to go home and sleep it off until he spotted Jennifer. Loose Jennifer. The best thing about her? She was blond. Not as pretty a blond as the other, but Jennifer didn't come with a confusing mixture of emotions. It was Jennifer's idea to dance so closely and then go into the gardens for some "privacy". So now he was in the garden kissing some girl he barely even wanted to know. But if kissing Jennifer helped him forget about Fina, well he was going to take this as far as possible, even if that meant...

Jennifer stormed off ten minutes later leaving Fred passed out on the grass.

* * *

><p>"Stop it!" Fina chided herself as she sat by one of the coy gardens and stared at her reflection. "You're being an idiot! Fred was never yours to begin with. You have Joe now."<p>

Fina sighed and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. She took a deep breath and willed herself to stop crying and get back to Joe.

"A beautiful young lady shouldn't be out in the gardens by herself." A voice said behind her.

Fina gasped and spun around coming face to face with none other than Sir Weister. His eyes traveled up and down her body and then lingered at the neckline of her dress. She felt paralyzed with fear and in that moment Weister moved behind her and covered her mouth before she could scream. Weister was a slimy, pathetic weasel of a man, but he was still a head taller and stronger than Fina. He held her wrists away from her in a painful grip using only one hand while the other continued to cover her mouth.

"Please hear me out, my dear." he pleaded in her ear. "Marry me and all that you desire shall be yours."

Fina's eyes widened and she doubled her efforts to break free of his grip.

"Try to understand." Weister grunted as she struggled. "The Warp Wizard is barely respected in the elite class of magicians. He cannot provide you with what you you deserve. You'll be stuck tramping around all sort of lands and times without a true place to call home. All you need to do to avoid this is never see him again and swear yourself to me."

Fina felt Weister's hand slide from mouth and move down her neck. Fina cried out and kicked his shin as hard as she could. Weister cried out in pain and released his hold on her.

"I'll never be yours!" Fina yelled before taking off running.

Her lungs were just starting to burn when she collided with someone.

"Oof!"

They both fell to the ground and when Fina looked up she found herself staring at the one person she wanted to see the most at that moment.

"Joe!" Fina cried out happily as he helped her up.

"What happened to you?" Joe asked, eying her with concern. "Why were you running?"

"I- I was," Fina considered telling Joe the truth. After all, Weister clearly feared Joe, no matter what he said about him. But on the other hand, life wasn't exactly easy for Joe and Weister could easily make things a lot worse...

"I just went for a walk in the gardens to think," Fina lied. "And then I got lost and went looking for you."

She heard Joe softly chuckle and he lifted her chin up with his fingers.

"You found me," he said softly, looking into her eyes.

Fina found that she couldn't hold his loving, trusting gaze so he let her eyes drop to his lips. Before she quite realized what was happening, Joe's mouth leaned down towards hers and his lips brushed against her lips. At first Fina was slow to what was happening, but then she slowly closed her eyes and kissed him back, letting all other thoughts go.


	9. Chapter 8

As they made their way back to their room, Sam held San-Li securely around the shoulders with a scowl on his face. For once though, his bad mood wasn't directed toward San-Li. In fact, he was angry on San-Li's behalf. They were actually having a great time at the festival before some woman ruined it all.

A few hours earlier:

San-Li chuckled as Sam attempted to dance with her.

"What?" Sam asked suddenly self conscious.

"Hold me like this." San-Li instructed him, placing his hand on her lower on waist and holding his hand away. "Now we just move a little closer, and take slower, wider steps."

"Where did you learn how to dance?" Sam asked, enjoying the feeling of San-Li being this close to him.

"Joleena forced her ladies to learn ballroom dancing for like a month." San-Li shrugged.

Sam smiled and pulled her even closer and whispered in her ear. "You look amazing tonight."

"You said that already." San- Li laughed, teasingly. "Are you trying to get somewhere with all of these compliments?"

Before Sam could stammer out an answer, a sharp voice interrupted their intimate bubble.

"Well if it isn't the _newly married_ San-Li?"

San-Li pulled away from Sam and stared at a much older woman who had black hair streaked with gray. Sam looked back and forth between them and could practically see the tension and dislike between them. The woman then turned cold, cynical eyes on him and Sam felt his insides grow cold.

"And this is your husband?" the woman said with contempt.

When Sam sensed that San-Li was about to come up with a none too polite response, he wrapped his arm protectively around her waist and stuck own hand instead. "Yes, my name is Sam. And you are?"

"Lady Morran," the woman extended a wrinkled hand. "An old...acquittance of San-Li. Well I must be going now."

Lady Morran gave a cold smile and started to move away. As she brushed by San-Li however, she stopped and whispered into her ear. "If I were you, I'd get pregnant soon before this husbands attempts to leave you as well."

When San-Li's face went even paler than usual, Lady Morran snickered and added bitterly, "Pretty convenient how your first husband died before he could ruin your family's proud name. Maybe that's why your father left you."

After that San-Li refused to dance with Sam anymore. She didn't seem angry at him though, she just told him she was tired and wanted to rest. Sam didn't argue but instead stayed with her not only to keep her company, but to restrain himself from tracking down that horrible woman and telling her off. He was so preoccupied by his own anger, he didn't notice what San-Li was doing until she was on her third glass of wine.

Sam finally opened the door to their apartments and helped San-Li rest on the couch. After he checked to make sure that Alex was still asleep, he summoned a few maids to help him help San-Li change out of her dress.

"I don't needs no help." San-Li slurred as he sat her on the bed. "I'm not drunk."

"This dress looks impossible to get off even sober." Sam replied with a small smile.

"Wouldn't you rather help me instead?" San-Li raised an eyebrow.

Sam was about to deny it until he realized that San-Li was wasted and would probably never remember this night anyway.

"Actually I would love to," Sam leaned in close to her. "But I don't think I'm brave enough to do that quite yet."

San-Li looked like she was about to say something else, but then three maid came in loaded with sewing equipment. They stopped when they saw Sam.

"Um, can you guys get her into her night clothes for me?" Sam scurried off of the bed. "I'll just get out of your way."

An hour and a half later the maids left carrying large bundles that had once been San-Li's dress. When Sam came back into the bedroom now dressed in just a T-shirt and boxers, San-Li whistled at him. Sam felt his cheeks grow hot but he sat down on the edge of the bed anyway.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

San-Li groaned and rubbed her brow. "Seven glasses of Syranian wine can't keep you drunk but so long."

"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

San-Li groaned again and leaned up on one elbow. "The wine made in Syrania has probably 1/3 the alcohol content of normal wine. Now shut up, your voice hurts my brain."

Sam chuckled and, completely on an impulse, pressed his lips against San-Li's forehead.

"Watch it, I told you I'm not drunk." San-Li mumbled but made no move to stop him.

Sam pulled away slowly and then laid down next to San-Li. "Tell me about her."

"Who?" San-Li grumbled.

"The woman who upset you so badly that you actually let me kiss you with no one watching."

That at least earned a laugh from San-Li. Her face grew empty and hard though as she began to tell Sam about Lady Morran.

"She's the aunt of my first husband." She said. "And the sister of a retired council man and baron, but without any children or other family members to inherit her fortune, it may all fall to me and her name will become worthless. She also blames me for her nephew's death and not giving him a son."

"But how?" Sam asked, putting an arm around her shoulders. "He died in the war, how can that be your fault? The grief must have caused a miscarriage. "

San-Li gave him a rueful smile. "That's the polished up version of the story, isn't it? That we fell in love, married young, but then he was tragically killed in battle leaving me pregnant."

San-Li gave a dark chuckle and actually moved in closer to Sam.

"That's no where near the truth. We were young when we first met. It was actually in the non magic world in high school. He was hot, mysterious, and rebellious and I was immature, crazy, and wild. Well one thing led to another and then pretty soon we were meeting up in each others rooms late at night. Well, eventually my father found out and in order to save my honor he forced my boyfriend's father to allow a marriage between us."

San-Li paused to take a deep breath and Sam could have sworn that he saw tears in her eyes. "Things were great for a while. I was... in love with him. And then I found out who he really was."

"He slept around, Sam." San-Li turned to him and shrugged. "We weren't even married for a month and I found out that he had an affair with three different girls. He didn't even try to hide it from me. You know what he told me when I confronted him? He told me to deal with it. And that's how our marriage went for the first five months."

"You couldn't ask for an annulment?" Sam asked angrily. "Joleena's your best friend! She had to be able to do something."

"It would have ruin both of our family's names." San-Li shook her head. "Anyways, things had gotten...complicated."

"Everyone was asking why I hadn't gotten pregnant yet." She explained. "We were both young and healthy and when Lady Morran found out that two of her nephew's mistresses were pregnant, she wondered why I wasn't pregnant either."

"They knew?" Sam gasped.

"His whole family knew." San-Li closed her eyes and yawned. "But the only thing they cared about was him getting a son off of me. And since I refused to sleep with him..."

"He raped you?" Sam was incredulous.

"What? No!" San-Li gave a small laugh. "He knew I'd kill him if he tried. No, he seduced me. He came to me with this phony heart filled apology and I actually believed him." San-Li shrugged. "I was still in love with him I guess. So a few weeks later I told him I was pregnant. I thought that if we had a baby it would give him a reason to change."

"Did it?" Sam felt horrible. San-Li really had been through a lot.

"Ha! No! Two days after I told him I found out that he was still sleeping around. When I confronted him about it, he laughed and told me that he'd gotten what he wanted from me. So then I told him that I was never pregnant and would die before I'd have a baby from him. He got angry. Really angry."

San-Li bit her lip and looked so scared that Sam tightened his grip around her. "He slapped me across the face. I fell against the counter and spit open my shoulder."

San-Li moved away from Sam just enough to pull down the strap of her night shirt and show him the scar across her shoulder blade. Sam sucked in his breath and stared at it.

"What did you do?" He whispered.

To his surprise, San-Li actually chuckled and lay back against him. "I nearly killed him. I picked up a crystal vase and smashed it over his head. He nearly died; I nearly let him."

"But that's not in your nature." Sam smiled.

"Not quite," San-Li smiled back. "I owed it to my family not to ruin our name. So I kept him alive, barely. Two days later he went off to war and was killed when trying to desert by a hungry demon."

San-Li was so quiet for a while that Sam had thought she had fallen asleep. Then she stirred against him and whispered, "Do you know why I agreed to marry you? The real reason?"

"Why?" Sam whispered turning out the lamp.

"You're not him." San-Li yawned and settled against him. "I took one look at you and knew that you would never be anything like him."

Sam felt a large grin spread across his face. Sure compared to San-Li's first husband a rock would have made a better husband, but to Sam that didn't matter. Holding her in his arms, Sam vowed to make San-Li forget about her old marriage. From now on, he was going to treat her like she deserved to be treated in the first place.


	10. Chapter 9

Sam woke up with his arms wrapped around something soft and warm. He lazily cracked open one eye and found himself staring down at the top of San-Li's head. Sam went rigid when he realized that San-Li was in fact laying asleep in his arms right now and would probably kill him if she woke up. But just as he started to gently dislodge himself, she stirred and tightened her grip around him.

"Don't move," She grumbled. "Too comfortable now."

Sam smiled and started to settle against her to go back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was a knock on their door.

"Hey you guys," Alex called from the other side of the door. "I'm hungry. Can I have some breakfast now?"

"Ugh," San-Li groaned and buried her face in Sam's chest. "There's no school today, why isn't he still asleep?"

Sam chuckled and drew small circles on San-Li's back. "He still has to eat you know."

The next thing he knew, Sam was on the floor and San-Li had a small smirk on her lips. Sam just laughed though and went into the kitchen.

"So what are you hungry for?" He asked Alex with a yawn.

"Chocolate cereal!" Alex shouted with glee.

"Your sister is going to kill me for bringing that back." Sam mumbled. "She says it makes you hyper."

"San's just boring sometimes." Alex said with a shrug.

Sam smiled and turned the stove and coffee pot on. As Alex started to devour his breakfast, Sam worked on fixing his and San-Li's. Over time he learned that San-Li usually only drank coffee in the mornings and maybe a little bit of eggs. Sam whistled happily to himself as he cracked a few eggs into the frying pan. As he was getting the coffee ready, he looked up to see Alex staring at him.

"What?"

"Are you and San-Li having sexual intercourse?" Alex asked seriously.

"What!" Sam nearly dropped the coffee pot.

He took a few deep breaths and knelt down so he was eye level with Alex. "No, we're not. What makes you ask that?"

"Usually you sleep on the couch, but last night you slept in San-Li's room."

"Listen Alex," Sam sighed and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I like your sister a lot, but trust me, things are not like that between us."

"But I thought you guys were married." Alex cocked his head to the side. "Don't married couples participate in-"

"Yeah, but not us." Sam interrupted before the conversation could become more awkward.

* * *

><p>San-Li groaned and rolled out of bed. It took her a minute to realize that Sam was missing and another minute to realize that she was hungry. Slipping on her robe she went out into the living room searching for breakfast. She spotted Alex sitting cross-legged on the floor eating Coco-Puffs while the TV played the DVD of Alex's favorite anime show that Sam had gotten for him. Sam smiled at her and she glared pointedly at the large box of Coco-Puffs sitting on the table. The nerd just shrugged innocently and handed her a steaming mug of coffee.<p>

"Thanks," she mumbled and tentatively took a sip. Surprisingly it was perfect; really strong with just a touch of sugar.

"I fixed you an omelet too," Sam slid one onto the plate. "Cheese and green peppers."

San-Li stared at her plate and then back at him. She glanced at Alex who just shrugged and went back to watching cartoons. San-Li shook her head and was just about to ask Sam what in the world was wrong with him this morning when there was a knock on their door.

"Yes?" San-Li opened the door and found young messenger boy holding a note out to her.

"From her royal highness, Queen Joleena." the boy stammered nervously.

"Thank you." Sam came up behind her and handed the boy a few gold coins. "Is there supposed to be a reply?"

"No sir," The messenger boy grinned broadly and pocketed his tip. "Thank you, sir."

San-Li closed the door and opened the envelope. She read it to herself, ignoring the inquiring glances Sam kept throwing at her.

"Well, what does it say?" He finally asked, sitting across the table from her.

Instead of answering San-Li just groaned and handed the note to Sam who read it out loud. " _You __and__ Sam pack some clothes and meet at the north dock in three hours. Bring lots of warm clothes and be prepared to stay for a few weeks. Her Royal Highness Queen Joleena."_

"So we're going on a trip?" Sam asked looking up. "What's so back about that?"

"Bring lots of warm clothes? Stay for a few weeks?" San-Li rolled her eyes and slumped in her chair. "It means that we're probably going to the most frigid country imaginable, on a ship, and we're going to have to stay forever!"

"A few weeks is not forever." Sam gave her an exasperated yet patient smile and started to eat his own breakfast. "It won't be so bad."

"Especially since I don't have to go." Alex smirked. If there was one thing he and his sister hated was cold weather.

San-Li glared at her younger and took a bite of her omelet. Sam smiled smugly when surprise registered on her face and she took another bite. And another.

"Good isn't it?" Sam smiled when she was on her third bite.

* * *

><p>San-Li was acutely aware of how close Sam was sitting next to her as they watched the maids pack their clothes and books. Even though Sam was actually talking to Alex and focusing his attention on him, Sam's arm was still wrapped around her waist and he was making small circles on her hip with his fingertips. She got up and moved over to the book case, pretending to look for a book to take with her.<p>

She handed a few at random to a maid who nodded and put the books in a travel bag for her. San-Li made sure that Sam wasn't looking and slipped out of the room.

"What did we do last night?" She wondered pacing the room.

She knew that hadn't had sex, Sam would have told her that much was for sure. Did she tell him she loved him or something? She didn't remember doing so, drunk or not. She stopped suddenly, remembering what did happen.

"Shoot!" she whispered.

She had told him her sob story. Now the nerd was going to pity her and try to act like an amazing husband to confiscate. San-Li groaned and slapped her forehead. The last thing she wanted was pity. Sure she had made some mistakes in her life, but she was happy with who she was now. Sam didn't have anything to do with that. He had no reason to be involved with her life.

"Yeah, but he sorta does have a reason." She mumbled. "He's my husband."

At first this trip just seemed like a pain. And now it had gotten that much more complicated. In Syrania she and Sam could pretty much stay out of each others way. But how many places could you go on a ship? Thanks to her big mouth, Sam was now more determined than ever to be her husband and now San-Li had nowhere to hide.


	11. Chapter 10

Fina smiled as the soft sea breeze blew her bangs back from her forehead. It was her first sea voyage and despite feeling a bit sea sick at first, she was really starting to enjoy herself. The sun was still high in the sky and she laughed as a dolphin leaped into the air.

"Nice day, huh?" A male voice said behind her.

Fina refused to turn around. Fred sighed and stepped closer anyway. "I guess you're mad at me for some reason."

_For some reason? _Fina took a breath and closed her eyes.

"Mad?" Fina said in a tense voice. "What makes you think that I'm angry?"

Her eyes shot open when she felt Fred's hand lightly cup her chin and turned her head to face him.

"I don't know," Fred said in a low voice, leaning towards her. "You stopped talking to me remember?"

Fina felt her face heat up as Fred started to lean in closer to her. She closed her eyes, expecting him to kiss her. After a while though, when she felt nothing but empty air. When she saw that Fred was smirking at her, she felt like a fool. She felt tempted to kick him in the shin (which she probably would have done when she was a little younger) but, thought of an even better way to get back at him.

"Have you seen Joe around?" She said sweetly relishing the very moment when Fred's smirk dissolved.

"Joe?" Fred took a deep breath and tried to make his face blank. "What do you want with him?"

"Oh, no reason." Fina smiled. "Just, you know, wanted to thank him for the amazing time we had last night."

Fred's face turned dark for a moment and Fina thought that she had maybe taken things too far. But so had he.

"Hey guys," a voice said behind them causing them to jump.

Joe walked up to Fina and gave her a peck on the cheek. Fina smiled, half from liking it and half from the look on Fred's face.

"They queen actually sent me for you Fred." Joe turned to his best friend. "She wants to review you and the rest of the soldiers on this trip about handling foreign situations."

"Wha- alright." Fred shrugged.

"I'll see you later?" Joe kissed Fina on the cheek and went below deck with Fred.

"So..." Fred said feeling slightly awkward. "You and Fina...are together ?"

"Yeah." Joe blushed and shrugged. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well, I think that she likes me, but sometimes it seems like...she doesn't really know."

"Oh," Fred said quietly. "And you like her? A lot?"

There was a long silence. And then, "Yeah. I like her a lot."

Before Fred could say anything else Joe opened the door to the meeting room. Joleena sat at the head of a large round table with two members of The Council on either side of her and five other soldiers on either side of the table. Fred took the remaining spot next to the soldiers and Joe sat at the opposite end of Joleena.

"I'm glad you two finally made it." Joleena smirked. "I'd thought that it's take another week."

"Um, your Highness..." one of the council members gently touched the edge of her sleeve.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Joleena waved him away. "Ahem, so I wanted you guys here so we can review where we're going, why, and what to expect from the locals."

"In about two weeks time we will arrive at Ghiaccio an ice country with a lot of natural power crystals and sea ports we can use." Joleena explained reading from some papers. "The problem is though that although the land has been under Syrania's rule for centuries, under my father's negligence Ghiaccio has declared itself independent."

"Um, excuse me? Your Highness?" Fred raised his hand. "But aren't we going to need more than six soldiers to subdue them?"

"Well actually we're not going to fight them or subdue them." Joleena said.

"But why not?" another soldier interrupted Joleena more rudely than Fred had. "Surely our troops are stronger they theirs!"

There was several grumbles of agreement all around the table. Fred and Joe just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Ahem." Joleena cleared her throat not very loudly, but instantly the room got quiet. Joe hid a smile when he saw Joleena trying to hide a smirk.

"As I was saying," Joleena continued. "I decided to let them have their independence. What we are doing now is going over there to discuss the possibility of a treaty. They don't use electricity like we do so maybe they'll agree to let us use some of their crystal mines and give us access to their ports."

"But, I still don't see why you need all of us." Fred said. "Usually you only carry around two or three guards."

Joleena smiled and put her papers away. "I said they _might_ let us use their resources. I never said that they won't be hostile."


	12. Chapter 11

San-Li had been avoiding Sam ever since they stepped foot on the ship. First she had spent all morning with Joleena and when the meeting had come up she had hunted down Fina and dragged her to her room. At first Fina just teased her about Sam, but then she ended up spilling her guts about the whole Joe/Fred situation.

"I still don't understand what the problem is," San-Li said gently. "Which guy do you like more?"

"I don't know!" Fina cried out in exasperation. She fell back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "I like them in two different ways. With Joe I feel so safe and secure and with Fred I feel...I feel..."

"Hot to trot?" San-Li suggested with a smirk.

Fina sat up suddenly and smacked San-Li with a pillow. San-Li fell off of the bed but came up with a second pillow and returned the blow. They were fully engaged in an old school pillow fight when Sam walked in. Fina and San-Li froze.

"Eek!" Fina squealed when she realized how disheveled her dress was and scrambled to get off of the floor and fix her dress.

"Um, I was just, uh, getting my laptop," Sam stammered trying not to laugh. "Just...carry on with what you're doing."

"What do you need your laptop for?" Fina asked politely.

"Oh um," Sam played with his glasses. "The queen wanted to, um, see something."

San-Li pressed her lips together, there was something about that she didn't like. She shook the feeling away impatiently. _What am I, jealous?_

Sam finished gathering up his things but didn't leave right away. Instead he came over to San-Li and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. He gave her a small, gentle smile before finally leaving. After he left, Fina turned to San-Li with a small, sad smile.

"He really loves you, doesn't he?"

San-Li gave a bitter laugh and sat back down on her bed. "He doesn't even know me."

Fina sat next to her and tugged on her hair. "Then give him a chance to know you."

* * *

><p>San-Li leaned forward on the railing and stared out into the night. She had just spent hours with Joleena and Fina while Sam played cards with Joe and Fred. Joleena had finally went to bed, but San-Li was too afraid to ask Sam when he was going to be done. So she had stood out here for twenty minutes just waiting and was just about to give up and head inside when she heard footsteps behind her.<p>

"I was wondering where you were."

Sam leaned next to her and looked out into the sky. "I was waiting in our room for about 15 minutes."

"I was looking at the stars." San-Li said. "Sometimes I think that I can see some of the same stars that are in our world. Its comforting."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sam chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders.

San-Li started to pull away but instead she leaned closer. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to do; hold a meaningful conversation with Sam. They sat down together on a lounge chair big enough to hold two. San-Li was thoroughly surprised at how comfortable she felt curled up by Sam's side.

"So who did you leave behind in the natural world?" San-Li asked Sam.

"Leave behind?" Sam repeated thoughtfully. "My mom I guess. When I first came to Syrania I told her that I was away at college. When I started working at the space station I told her that I was doing an internship for NASA."

"And she believed you?" San-Li laughed. "You must have been a really smart kid."

"Yeah." Sam laughed and pulled her closer. "I was considered the king of nerds all throughout Elementary and Junior High School."

"I don't doubt it."

"Hey!"

San-Li laid her head on Sam's chest and peered up and him. "What about your dad?"

"He and my mom separated before I was two." Sam sighed. "My mom never liked to talked about him."

"Oh." San-Li was quiet for a minute. "My dad never talked about my mom either. Right after I was born she got sick and died in less than a month."

Sam looked confused for a minuted and she explained further. "Alex's mother is my father's second wife."

"Oh."

They moved on to easier topics after that. Sam had just finished telling her about the time he and his friends accidentally warped themselves to the South Pole when San-Li yawned. Sam laughed and pulled out his pocket watch.

"Its almost 2 am," He laughed. "I think that we need to go to bed."

* * *

><p>They dressed separately of course with Sam in the bathroom and San-Li in the bedroom. Sam knocked twice to let her know that he was coming out, but by that time San-Li was already finished. She was sitting in front of the mirror tying her hair up when she noticed that Sam was staring at her.<p>

"What?" she asked.

Sam just shook his head though and continued to go through his dresser. San-Li shook her head and made her way towards the bed.

"San-Li?"

"Hmm?"

She turned and found Sam less than two inches away from her. She could already guess what he wanted since he had been cuddling up to her all night, but she still had to admit that she was surprised at his bravery. She even more surprised that she wasn't angry at him for it.

Sam cupped her face with one hand while the other drew her closer to him. There was a second of hesitation on both parts before their lips met in a surprisingly gentle yet hungry kiss. Sam wrapped both arms around her waist and the kiss grew steadily more intense. It was then that San-Li realized something; she was totally unprepared for intimacy with Sam. Physical or emotional.

"Sam, wait." She said breaking the kiss. "I can't do this."

"What?" Sam looked both confused and upset. "Why? What are you talking about? Why can't you do this?"

"I can't because-" _I'm afraid. I'm afraid of getting hurt again! I'm afraid you won't be who I think you are. _

"I can't because I'm not going to give myself to anyone!" She ended up sound angry when she didn't mean to be. She pried Sam's arms off her waist. "I already know that everything is just an act so you can sleep with me! You can't have me just because you married me!"

San-Li was shouting now and shut her mouth before anything else came out. It was too late though, Sam's face was already a mask of hurt. She sighed and crawled under the blankets and turned out the lights. She closed her eyes and hoped that she would fall asleep before she started crying.

Tears were starting to pick her eyelids when she felt the bed shift as Sam sat on the edge of the bed. She sat up and he turned the light back on, but he still didn't look at her. Finally he turned to face her his face completely unreadable. He laid his palms flat on the headboard on either side of San-Li's head, effectively blocking in her in. He leaned down toward her until his face was an inch away from hers.

"Actually, I can," He whispered in a low, yet expressionless voice. "I'm your husband remember? So I can have you whether you like it or not."

"Sam." San-Li whispered in a small voice, but he shook his head warningly.

"This is Syrania, not the U.S." His whispered. "From the day we were married I owned you and so yes, I own you and I could have you anytime I wanted."

Sam removed one hand from the headboard and reached for San-Li's face. She flinched when he caressed her cheek and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "But I didn't because I wanted you to love me on your own feel will."

He stayed like that for a minute letting what he said sink in. When he finally leaned away, his expression had not altered.

"But since you seem incapable of trusting me or love at all, I'll have Joleena write up an annulment for us first thing in the morning."

Sam stood up suddenly and started to gather some of his things. San-Li wanted to protest, beg him for forgiveness, and tell him that she was capable, but only needed more time. The words didn't come though and Sam only paused a second before shutting the door behind him without looking back.


	13. Chapter 12

Sam quietly left Joe's room and headed for Joleena's receiving room early in the morning. He had slept badly knowing what he was about to do. Divorce was ugly no matter what world you were in, and he knew deep down that he was going to miss San-Li. But if she could never even _try _to be his wife, then what was the point? Sam was trying not to be selfish but didn't he deserve someone too?

"Your Highness?" Sam knocked before opening the door.

"Oh, Sam. It's you." Joleena was sitting at her desk with two of her council members standing over her.

"You're busy?" Sam suddenly felt awkward. "I-I can come back later."

"Actually, I need some fresh sea air." Joleena stood up. "Come on, let's talk on deck."

Sam watched as Joleena leaned out over the railing and the sea air blew her hair back and a smile lit her face. He was surprised at the well of emotion that he had to force back down inside of him. He had told himself over and over again that he was over his crush on Joleena, but being this close to her again...

"Sam! Hello? Earth to Sam!" Joleena waved her hand in front of his face.

"W-wha?"

"You said you needed to speak to me about something?"

"Oh, right." Sam took a deep breath and prepared to say the hardest thing he had ever had to say. "There's something I need to tell you. San-Li and I- we aren't- I mean-"

"Sam!" A voice called behind them."

He turned and saw San-Li hurrying towards them. Sam's heart dropped, he really didn't want her here for something like this.

_Yeah, because your way too much of a coward to divorce your wife to her face. _

"San-Li," Sam sighed when she reached them. "I thought I told you-"

"I know, I know," San-Li panted. "But you um, forgot something."

"Really?" Sam crossed his arms. "What?"

"Um..." San-Li bit her lip. "This."

Without any warning she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips.

"I'll leave you two alone." Joleena said with a small chuckle.

San-Li continued to kiss Sam until gently pushed her away. Not completely away though.

"What are you doing?" He whispered. "I thought I told you-"

She gently placed her finger against his lips, shushing him effectively. She then gently wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry," She whispered quietly. "Please don't leave Alex. Please don't give up on this family. And please, please don't leave me. I'm not going to say that I love you, but...but I'm going to try."

Sam's heart leaped within his chest. Finally, these were the words that he finally needed to hear. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Sam wished it could last forever.

"Okay, that's enough." San-Li laughed gently pulling away. "If we're going to do this, its gonna be on my terms."

Sam chuckled softly and leaned against the railing, pulling San-Li against him again. "Which are?"

San-Li blushed but continued. "No cute nicknames. I don't want you to call me baby or sweetie-pie or anything like that."

"No nicknames." Sam laughed. "Got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah." San-Li's face turned serious. "Just because you're my husband doesn't mean you get to be in charge."

"San-Li," He frowned. "I don't want to be in charge of you. I told you that-"

"Not what I meant." San-Li shook her head. "Marital law in Syrania says that the husband is in charge of the wife's money and property. So technically you're in charge of everything I own and all the money I make."

"Oh." Sam ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well how about this," He smiled. "We make all of the decisions together. No one is in charge of anything. Okay?"

"San-Li!" Joleena called, coming up from below deck.

"Ugh, I gotta go." San-Li rolled her eyes.

"Its okay." Sam laughed and held her tighter. "I'll see you later."

San-Li nodded and kissed him fully on the lips before walking away.

Sam sighed happily as he watch her walk away. The headlock from behind caught him completely off guard.

"Yo Sam!" Fred yelled in his ear. "You sly dog! Totally saw that kiss!"

"I thought you said it wasn't working between you two." Joe said.

"Well, we um, sort of worked things out." Sam shrugged blushing a bit.

"Oh yeah, we can see that." Fred winked.

* * *

><p>Fina yawned and toyed with her braid.<p>

"I thought you stopped doing that when you were 13." Joleena said.

"Oh." Fina looked up. "I hadn't realized I was doing it."

San-Li rolled her eyes and continued to decorate Joleena's hair. Fina had seen her and Sam kissed and she had almost felt...jealous. Joe had kissed her before, but when San-Li had walked away there was a sparkle in her eyes that Fina had never seen before.

"Do my eyes sparkle when Joe is around?" She asked suddenly.

Joleena took a second before answering. "You do sort of glow."

"Why would you ask something like that?" San-Li asked.

"I dunno," Fina shrugged curious. "I was just...asking."

"Don't worry," Joleena smiled at her. "Just give it some time, you and Joe will be really close. I just know you will."

San-Li smirked at Fina over Joleena's head and rolled her eyes.

"I saw that."


	14. Chapter 13

"So did you need something?" San-Li asked. "Your highness."

"In a hurry to get back to Sam?" Joleena teased. "Actually, I wanted to let you guys know that we'll be nearing our destination soon."

"I thought that the air felt colder this morning." Fina said, but San-Li frowned.

"So why the early warning system?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh." Joleena said. "Just in case. You never know what might happen."

* * *

><p>As Fina walked back to her room she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. Her first sense was to panic, but then she remember that she was out on a ship far away from Weister. She turned with a smile on her face.<p>

"Hello Joe." She giggled. "What's up?"

Joe didn't answer, instead he captured her lips in a strong, firm kiss. Fina went still for the first few seconds before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. Then she broke the kiss panting slightly.

"This is, ah, a little inappropriate for us. Don't you think?" Fina asked slightly out of breath.

"Oh." Joe said looking slightly disappointed.

"Not that I don't like it." Fina said quickly.

When Joe gave her a surprised look she realized how she may have sounded.

"Oh! I-I-I mean I like kissing you it's just that-"

Joe interrupted her with another, gentler kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers and chuckled.

"I get it." He smiled. "You wanna take a walk?"

Joe led her up on the deck, holding her hand. They looked out over the sea and Fina noticed that both the sea and the sky looked gray. The wind was also blowing a lot colder than it had earlier. Fina shivered a bit and Joe placed his thick woolen cloak over her shoulders.

"Thanks," Fina said gratefully, pulling it tight around her. "But won't you get cold?"

"Mm," Joe wrapped his arms around Fina and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking out onto the sea with her. "Nope."

Fina blushed and felt a confusing mix of emotions. The last person who held her like this... Fina mentally slapped herself to get rid of the image of Weister. This was completely different. The way Joe was holding her was the most romantic thing she had ever experienced.

"What are you thinking about?" Joe's voice was low in her ear.

"You actually." Fina felt her face grow hot. "I, um, really like you Joe."

Joe was silent for such a long time that Fina wondered if she had made a mistake. He then slowly took his arms around from around her shoulders and turned her to face him, looking her in the eye.

"Do you like me?" He asked her in a whisper, his face carefully blank. "As much as I like you?"

Fina bit her lip and slowly nodded. A smile finally spread across his face and he pulled her into a tender embrace. Fina held him just as tightly and felt her heart soar. That is, until she happened to glance over Joe's shoulder. Fred stood not ten feet away from them with a folded piece of paper in his hand. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Fred sadly nodded and looked away. He then took piece of paper that he was holding, crumbled it up, and threw it away.


	15. Chapter 14

San-Li groaned and wrapped her arms tighter around Sam. "I hate the cold."

Sam only yawned and kissed her forehead. "I know."

It had been only two days since the weather had turned cold and the temperature had already dropped to below 10 degrees. Right now, Sam and San-Li were buried under a mound of blankets and quilts and yet she was still freezing.

"Ugh!" San-Li pushed Sam away and sat up as the ship's bell rang. "Heaters on!"

Three small, silver objects placed in each corner of the room began to glow orange and heat slowly filled the room. Sam yawned again and ran his fingers down her spine.

"Eek!" San-Li shrieked and jumped out of the bed. "Jerk!"

Sam laughed and got out of bed too. "Sorry."

"I swear you are so immature sometimes." San-Li rolled her eyes as she started getting dressed while Sam headed to the bathroom.

They were becoming closer and more comfortable with each other each passing day, but there were still a lot of physical boundaries that they didn't cross. They would sleep in the same bed but that was as far as that went. Sam knocked twice to let San-Li know he was coming out, but she was already dressed and fixing her hair.

"We should be landing sometime today." Sam said pulling his shoes on. "Probably after breakfast."

"Ugh." San-Li groaned, pinning her hair up. Sam looked at her a minute and then on an impulse kneeled down and grabbed her leg. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"Lacing up your boots." Sam said lightly.

He gently caressed her ankles before slipping them into her boots and then lacing the strings up. He then hesitated a second before lightly kissing her knees. Sam looked up to see her reaction, hoping for maybe a smile but instead only got an eye roll.

"Happy now?" San-Li said struggling to keep her face blank.

Sam sighed and stood. "Yeah."

"Good." San-Li stood up on her tiptoes and gave Sam a peck on the lips. "Stop trying to impress me."

She started to walk away but Sam grabbed her waist, spun her around, and pulled her into a deep kiss. She pretended to pull away at first but then melted into his arms, locking her hands behind his head and kissing him even harder.

"Hm," San-Li smiled and pulled away, looking a little dreamy. "Consider me impressed."

Sam smiled warmly at her and leaned his forehead against hers. "That's good."

San-Li rolled her eyes and moved away. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Fred was still yawning even after breakfast when the ship docked. He snapped to attention with the other soldiers when the queen and her two council men walked by. She re-briefed them on what they were here and how they were supposed to act and blah, blah, blah. He spotted Joe and Fina near the railing with there arms around each other and San-Li and Sam were close by. Fina turned and smiled at Joe who then kissed her. Fred quickly averted his eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>Joe had his arms wrapped tightly around Fina's shoulders in order to keep her warm among other things.<p>

"Mm, you smell good." He whispered in her ear.

Fina giggled and elbowed him gently. "Cut it out. That sounds so creepy."

Joe chuckled and held her tighter. He loved to mess with her like that, just to make her laugh. Technically, the ship had docked over an hour ago but they were still waiting for the officials to come out and greet them. After a while he spotted what looked like a large group of people headed toward the ship just off shore. Fina peered over the railing and then looked up at him.

"Do you see them?" She asked him. "What do they look like?"

"Like little blue blurs on a huge white blur." Joe said. "Too far to really see."

"Not with the right equipment." Sam said coming up behind them. He pulled a pair of high-tech binoculars out of his coat. "Tribal leaders maybe three or four, what looks like a small regiment of warriors, and an ambassador."

"Warriors?" San-Li asked. "That can't be good."

"We brought soldiers too." Joe pointed out. "They were probably expecting the same thing we were expecting."

When they finally reached the dock two of the warriors pulled out trumpets and blew three longs blasts. Joleena walked to the forefront of the gangplank with her two council members on either side of her. Fred and the other soldiers fell in step behind her.

Joe sighed. "I guess it's show time."


	16. Chapter 15

Fina was just about to change her clothes and get into bed when there was a knock at her door. She groaned and threw a shawl over her shoulders. They had been in ice country for about two weeks now and as far as Fina knew the treaties were going alright. That is, they hadn't needed to use the militia Joleena brought with them. The truth was that Fina was terrible at following politics or diplomacy or whatever it was.

"Coming, coming." She said when the knock continued again.

She opened the door a bit impatiently expecting San-Li. "What is it now?"

"Oh um," a startled Joe gave her a crooked smile. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out, but I can come back later if you want me to."

"Oh, no, no its okay," Fina laughed. "I thought you were San-Li."

Joe smiled and leaned in the doorway. "Thank goodness I'm not."

Fina smiled back but felt a little nervous about Joe visiting her room so late at night. He suddenly reached out and gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he whispered.

"Um, sure." Fina stepped aside. "Come on in."

Fina quickly closed to door so that no more cold could come inside. Joe walked around around for a bit before settling on her couch. Even though her room was more like a miniature igloo they had made sure to decorate it to be as comfortable as possible. Joe looked over his shoulder at her and invited her to sit with him.

"So how do you like Ghiaccio?" He asked slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Ugh," She leaned into his shoulder, happy for the warmth. "Its beautiful, but its always freezing! The sun is even cold."

"Actually, I don't think that's the sun," Joe laughed. "It's more like a brighter version of the moon."

Fina laughed and Joe wrapped his arm tighter around her. They stayed like that for a few minutes watching the dimming embers in the small fireplace. Suddenly, Joe cupped her face with one hand and turned her towards him. She in turn caressed his cheek with her fingers. He sighed and ran light kisses down her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

"I got a letter today," Fina confided in a whisper.

"From who?" Joe leaned his forehead against hers.

"Council Man Derando," Fina whispered and felt Joe tense. "He wants me to consider getting married soon."

Joe leaned away from her and looked nervous. "Did he now?"

"Mm-hm, he even told me which suitors expressed interest." Fina said. "One of the was Weister."

She then turned to Joe to see his reaction. "And the other one was...you."

Joe started coughing so hard that for a minute Fina was afraid he'd hack up a lung.

"H-he actually told you that?" he finally stammered out.

"Yes, he did." Fina said quietly. "He actually wanted to give me a choice on who I married."

Joe said and grabbed her hand. "Fina listen, I wasn't trying to go behind your back or anything like that. I just didn't want you to come home and have a surprise wedding waiting for you."

"Then," Fina said after a long silence. "How did you intend on telling me?"

Joe looked at Fina for a minute unsure of what she was really asking until she gave him a small smile and a nod.

"Wait right here." he said excitedly and left her room.

Fina stood up and nervously paced across the floor. Part of her didn't want this to happen, and yet another part of her did.

"Stupid Fred." She mumbled.

"What about Fred?" Joe asked coming back into the room.

Fina jumped and turned around. "Oh, uh, nothing, nothing."

She sat back down on the couch and Joe sat next to her and took her hand.

"Fina," he whispered. "I know we haven't been together long, but I feel like we have some sort of... connection between us."

"I feel the same way." Fina said.

"I wanted to wait another year or so before I did this, but something tells me that Councilman Derando won't let me wait that long."

"Fina," Joe kneeled down in front of her. "Will you marry me?"

For a minute Fina couldn't answer. Then she forced herself to. "Y-yes."

Joe grinned and then pulled out a ring with a small light blue crystal on it. Fina hopped he didn't notice how much her hand shook as he slipped the ring on her finger. Joe then cupped her face with both hands and kissed her.

* * *

><p>Fred carried the last box out of the make-shift soldiers barracks and brought it er to the air-boat.<p>

"Yo Fred," Nebrose called over to him. "Be ready to leave in half an hour."

"Alright!" Fred yelled back.

"Leave?" A voice said behind him "Where are you going?"

Fred turned and came face to face with Fina. He hated to admit it, but the mere sight of her still made his heart skip a beat.

"Hey Fina." He said trying to sound cooler than he felt. "What's up?"

"Where are you going?" she repeated.

"Oh um," Fred nervously looked away. "A special reconnaissance mission...in Mercane."

"Mercane!" Fina shouted. "That's almost three worlds away! And its dangerous! Why would the queen send you there?"

"Joleena doesn't need all of her soldiers here," Fred explained. "And I volunteered to go."

"What?" Tears began to form in Fina's eyes. "Why would you do that?"

Fred shrugged. "Like I said, the treaties are going great and I don't have a reason to stay..."

Fina made a slight movement with her left hand, but then reached out with her right and cupped Fred's cheek. Fred froze and found himself hypnotized by her beautiful light blue eyes.

"You don't have a reason to stay?" She whispered. "You really can't think of one?"

Fred stared at her dumbfounded. He started to leaned toward her, to ask her to give him a reason to stay, when he spotted Joe coming out of the huts with some of the others.

"Fred!" Nebrose called to him as the airship began to rise. "Time to go!"

"I have to go now." Fred sighed.

Fina didn't remove her hand though. "Do you?"

Fred spotted Joe coming towards them. "Yeah, I'll write you. Okay?"

He then kissed her forehead, waved at Joe and Sam, and boarded the airship. Once a couple of safe miles in the air he took one last look down at Fina and his friends. Joe now had his arms around Fina and Fred actually felt tears come to his eyes. He impatiently brushed them away and turned his back.

* * *

><p>Joe waved at the disappearing airship and tightened his grip on Fina's waist.<p>

"So," he said turning to smile at her. "Did you tell him the good news yet?"

Fina was silent for a minute before answering quietly. "Yes. I told him."

**A/N- I know it seems like Fina and Joe are moving fast, but they've been sorta together for about a month now and Councilman Derando is pressuring Fina to get married and you know how determined Weister is to get her and how determined Joe is to stop him.**


	17. Chapter 16

Sam could tell that San-Li was getting impatient by the way she was shifting from side to side. They along with Joe, Fina, and a few soldiers were standing behind Joleena and the two council members as they finalized the contract between Syrania and Ghiaccio. The head tribal leader, Minn, was stout, looked to be about a hundred years old, and had pale blue skin like wrinkled leather.

"_Prohíbese__ a __pesca__ no __ríos__sagrado__ do __norte_." He said slowly.

The ambassador, a much younger woman named Minnal, piped up. "Great grandfather say, 'No fishing in the sacred northern rivers.'"

Joleena whispered with her council members and they both nodded.

"Agreed." Joleena said. "But, we still request the use of the northern river in order to access your _potenza_sapphires."

The two other tribal leaders began whispering to Minn who then in turn whispered to Minnal.

"Great grandfather," she said. "Wants to know what value do our crystals have for you."

"Well," Joleena explained. "My team of scientists have discovered that crystals with identical properties have very great conductivity which is ideal for sustaining small currents of electricity."

Just as Minnal finished explaining this to the tribal leaders one of the warriors, a man around Minnal's age with a scar running through one eye reacted violently. He began shouting something in his native language and the other warriors began to nod in agreement. The head tribal leader raised his staff for silence, but it wasn't until one of the other tribal leaders nodded that the warrior fell silent. The head tribal leader thought silently for a moment before saying something to Minnal.

"Great grandfather warns," she said, "That many worlds and countries have fallen because the actions of leaders who have mined their own lands dry."

Joleena was silent for a moment and Sam could tell that her mind was working furiously. This, however, was exactly what he had been expecting. Prior to the trip he had done a lot of extensive research on the minimum of crystals Syrania would need to sustain itself on a yearly basis with making it become over urbanized like New York. He then took a visit to the caves themselves, measured their approx. mass, and the growth of the crystals. He pulled out his notes and leaned down next to Joleena.

"Um, your highness?" he whispered. "If we only mine 10 kilograms of crystals from two of the mines on a yearly basis, it would be enough to sustain Syrania and still allow the crystals to grow to double their original size."

"Thanks, Sam." Joleena winked at him.

When she repeated this to Minn, he stroked his beard and slowly nodded his head. He then picked up the quill and wrote the new clause in his own language and then handed the quill to Joleena. With a small triumphant smile she too wrote the clause and signed the document. She passed it back to the tribal leaders and one by one they each signed their names.

* * *

><p>San-Li slipped her thickly gloved hand into his and pecked Sam on the cheek. "You did awesome in there."<p>

"Really?" Sam blushed. "Thanks."

"Yeah dude, you really rocked back there." Joe said with his arm around Fina.

They were all outside of the tent by their sleigh waiting for the queen to finalize the negotiations. With a grunt Sam lifted San-Li and placed her in the sleigh and Joe did the same with Fina. When they guys went off to get them something to eat, San-Li grabbed Fina's hand to take another look at her engagement ring.

"Isn't it pretty?" Fina said quietly.

"Cute." San-Li dropped Fina's hand and fixed her with a serious look. "Kinda sudden though."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Is that why Fred left in a such a hurry?" San-Li asked suspiciously.

"Well," Fina sighed and pressed her lips together.

San-Li sighed in frustration and hit herself in the forehead. "You never told him did you?"

"He would have left me anyway!" Fina cried out in frustration tears filling her eyes.

San-Li gently shushed her and looked for Joe. He and Sam were a little ways away from them and didn't look like they heard anyway. She then turned back to Fina and patted her hand a bit awkwardly.

"Come on now don't start crying," San-Li said. "Joe's a pretty awesome guy. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be between you and Fred. I mean, look at Sam and me. I never would have dreamed of marrying of him, but now... "

When Fina started to smirk at her, San-Li stopped and started blushing.

"Well, w-w-what I mean is," She stammered. "Sam and I are, I mean I think that he's really..."

"I'm really what?"

San-Li literally jumped when Sam spoke suddenly next to her. He laughed and handed her a steaming cup of coffee. Fina quickly dried her tears and managed to smile when Joe handed her a cup as well.

"It should only be a few more minutes," Joe said hopping in the sleigh next to her. "But it might be a few hours before we can leave."

"Ugh, why?" San-Li groaned. "I thought the negotiations were done with."

"They are," Joe sighed. "But her highness still wants to visit the mines and obtain the crystals while we're here."

Just then, Joleena and the council members left the tent with Minn right behind them. Joleena shared a few brief words with Minn and headed over to their sleigh. She looked tired, but seemed satisfied at how everything went. As soon as she approached the remaining soldiers snapped to attention.

"Okay guys," Joleena said in a loud clear voice. "I need five of you soldiers to volunteer to to go mine the southern most ice cave. Sam, we'll be using your equipment so I'll need you to supervise. Be ready to leave in twenty minutes."

"Um, your highness?" San-Li caught up to Joleena as everyone made the necessary preparations. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Make it quick." Joleena said impatiently. She then sighed and relented when San-Li shot her a look. "Sorry, long morning. What's up?"

"Okay, is it just me or was that scene with the angry warrior a little...unsettling to you?"

"Yeah," Joleena sighed and bit her lip. "Can't say I blame them though, they were probably expecting someone to come along and try to mine their crystals."

"And if that warrior is as serious as I think he sounded, he's not going to give up that easy."

"So what your saying is that you want to keep an eye on him?"

San-Li nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying. And it wouldn't hurt to add a few more guards."

* * *

><p>There was hardly any noise as the cranes Sam invented extracted the crystals from their bedding. The queen's men worked quickly, each hoping to end their stay at Ghiaccio as soon as possible. The only other ones with them were the inventor and a few of tribal warriors. Nikkem watched the foreigners with a hateful glare. The few loyal warriors from his tribe that haven't gone traitor watched for his signal. He in turn waited for his signal from his leader, Nessem. He felt his earring move ever so slightly and he smiled. He took off his earring and nodded to the others. One by one they mumbled a few words and placed them on the ground. And one by one they slipped into the shadows and out of the cave.<p>

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" San-Li mumbled looking through Sam's binocular. She then gasped when she realized exacted what they were doing. "Oh crap."<p>

San-Li jumped down from the over cropping she was hiding on and ran towards the workers. Just as she reached them, the earrings sank into the floor and the cave started to shake.

"Earthquake!" She yelled over the noise. "Out of here now!"

Everyone looked confused for a minute but as the shaking worsened they began to run. San-Li then looked around for Sam, panicking when she didn't spot him right away. When she finally found him she saw that he was almost right above her on another outcropping trying to get some of the Ghanaians to leave who didn't understand what was happening. The two of them exchanged a look and San-Li nodded. She then spotted Nikkem watching on an over hanging glaring down at them.

* * *

><p>Joleena was brought to the cave just in time to see it begin to collapse.<p>

"Do a head count! Make sure everyone is alright!" She yelled.

She looked over her people and the warriors and was relieved to see that it looked like everyone was alright. Until she realized who was missing that was.

"Sam!" she screamed running towards the cave. "San-Li!"

"Your highness, no!" One of her councilmen yelled and a guard held her back.

Joleena struggled to break free, but just as she did the cave collapsed completely. She screamed and felt tears run freely down her face.


	18. Chapter 17

"Uhhh," Sam groaned struggling to open his eyes. "My head."

He tried sitting up but fell back again with a gasp of pain. He looked down and saw that his left ankle was trapped under a pile of icy rubble and his left shoulder was covered in blood. As a matter of fact he was surrounded by piles of rubble and darkness. Sam swore under his breath.

"Man," he said. "What happened?"

He lay back and closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened in the last hour.

_San-Li ran after Nikkem through the twisting narrow passages as they began to collapse with Sam following behind her. Suddenly Nikkem turned and pointed something at San-Li and at the same time she pulled out a gun that Sam never knew she had. Before she could even fire it though Nikkem fired first and San-Li literally flew backwards and knocked into Sam. He checked her over for any injuries but despite not having any she was completely unconscious. Nikkem snickered and sauntered towards them. He said something in Ghanian and pointed what looked like an earring at them. Sam glared at him and held San-Li tightly to his chest. Just then the tunnel collapsed completely, sending them tumbling into darkness._

"San-Li!" Sam cried out looking wildly about him. "San-Li!"

He heard a slight movement to the left of him and tried to crane his head towards the sound. She was laying on her side turned away from him and Sam felt his heart sink. She couldn't be dead. Not after all they've been through and not after everything she came to mean to him. Suddenly, she groaned and began to move.

"Oh thank God." Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

He waited patiently while she looked around until she spotted him and crawled over to him. Her lower lip was cut and there was a small gash on her forehead but other than that she looked alright.

"You look like crap." he mumbled reaching out to caress her cheek.

"And you look like," her eyes traveled down to his legs. "like you're hurt!"

Sam heard a tearing noise and felt her wrap something around his injured shoulder.

"I'm fine," Sam smiled, fully enjoying the way she was fretting over him. "It's nothing really."

San-Li though instead of tearing up shot him a dirty look. "Nothing? Your ankle is trapped under a block of ice, which means that you can't help me find a way out, you could also get frostbite, lose your foot, and on top of all that you're bleeding like crazy!"

"Well this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to follow that nut job Nikkem we could have made it out of the cave!" Sam yelled angrily back.

The yelling echoed around them and despite fighting San-Li shielded Sam from the small shower of ice that fell on them. Afterwards, though she didn't pull away and it took Sam a minute to realize that she was crying onto his shoulder. Sam sighed and gently tugged on a few loose strands of her hair.

"Hey," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

San-Li gave a bitter laugh and sat up, brushing the tears out of her eyes. "Yeah, right. Like I'm scared of you yelling."

San-Li sighed and wrapped her arms around Sam trying to keep him warm. He had hoped she wouldn't notice how much he was shivering.

"I just don't see how we're gonna get out of this one." She said quietly. "All of my things...I lost them when we fell...I'm lucky I still have my coat on."

"Hey wait," Sam winced and tried sitting up. "Maybe its around here somewhere. Did you look?"

For a while San-Li didn't answer. It was so dark where they were that Sam could barely make out her face. Finally she sighed and gently kissed his cheek.

"I don't want to leave you here alone." She whispered.

Sam searched for her cheek with his hand and caressed it. "I'll be fine. I'll just wait here for you."

After another quick final kiss Sam felt San-Li move away from him and her footsteps faded away into the darkness.

* * *

><p>"I don't care how cold it gets! Keep digging until you find them!" Joleena shouted above the noise of the drills. "We'll dig all week if we have to!"<p>

"Your highness!" one of the soldiers ran up to her. "I series of tunnels and caves were found under and within the mines. If we continue to dig like this, surely they will collapse."

"Alright." Joleena bit her thumbnail. "Order everyone on standby though until I can figure something out."

Joleena paced for a second before turning to address the others. "I want everyone to form teams of three and then I want everyone down in those tunnels until we find my friends!"

It took a few minutes for them to reassemble themselves but once they did they disappeared into the mines. Joleena then took everyone by surprise by ordering that her staff be brought to her. The man gave her a funny look but then hurried off to where her tent was. Joleena sighed and bit her thumbnail again. It had been years since she had used her staff and for good reason too...

* * *

><p>Sam held San-Li tightly as they both watched the weakening flames. A few minutes after leaving him San-Li came back holding a few heating beads and the tattered remains of her backpack. One of the beads she used to melt the ice and free Sam's ankle and the other to light her backpack on fire in order give them some warmth. That was hours ago. Now the flames were dying and Sam was afraid that San-Li was beginning to get a fever.<p>

"Will you quit it?" She grumbled when Sam felt her forehead for the fifth time. "I ain't sick, okay?"

"You're warm."

"Cause you're practically smothering me."

"Oh?" Sam smirked. "Are you saying that I make you hot?"

San-Li snickered. "I nerd like you, yeah right."

After that they were quiet again, each a bit lost in their own thoughts. Sam's shoulder was starting to go numb but he didn't want to tell San-Li that. It was all he could do to make sure that they both stayed warm. San-Li gave the very slightest cough but it was enough for Sam to lift his head and look at her in worry.

"Stop it." San-Li mumbled before he could say anything. "It's just a small cough. Don't go freaking out on me."

Sam forced a laughed and told her that he was more worried about it being contagious. In his heart though he knew he was just putting up a front for her sake. Inside though, his heart was racing from fear.

_I can't lose you. _He said in his mind. _Not when I just got you. Please be okay. _


	19. Chapter 18

Joleena's vision was starting to blur, but she kept going. Instead she focused on her breathing, concentrated her energy, and carefully disintegrated another block of ice the size of a bus. She headed the first rescue team and also cleared away the worst of the rubble at the start of the tunnels. Also on her team were the Warp Wizard Joe and two soldiers. Fina had begged to come, but Joe had all but ordered her to stay outside. After getting rid of two more larger blocks of ice and opening a blocked passage, Joleena began to get nauseous as well and had to stop for a minute.

"Hey your highness," Joe placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." Joleena panted. "Just keep going."

Joe nodded reluctantly and signaled the others to keep going. After another minute of rest Joleena followed them and they respectfully stepped aside with a slight bow in order to let her lead the way. The tunnel was beginning to darken from gloomy to complete darkness so Joleena ignited her staff to light their way. After a few feet the tunnel began to slope downward and Joleena had to use a little levitation in order to keep them from falling.

"Another ice wall, your highness." One of the soldiers reported after another couple of feet.

"I'm on it." Joleena muttered but again Joe placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I got this." He said with a wink.

Joe then walked up to the wall of ice and placed his hand on it. "Reverse."

Slowly a green light began to emit from under his palm and slowly spread across the ice wall. The whole tunnel seemed to warp as the wall changed shape and the individual icy stones began to move replacing themselves in the walls and ceiling. Joe then turned and winked at Joleena making her laugh a bit as the other soldiers went ahead. Joleena started to follow them but Joe made her sit down again.

"You don't look too good." Joe said sitting next to her. "Is it always like this when you use your powers?"

"Yeah." Joleena yawned. "Syranian monarchs are given such power that it takes years for us to master. And since I became a queen at such an early age..."

"All that power was given to you at once." Joe finished for her.

Joleena nodded and then there was a shout."We found them!"

* * *

><p>They were wrapped in each others arms, lovers until the end. The soldiers' weakening flashlights found their pale, nearly blue bodies.<p>

"We are too late." One of the soldiers whispered.

"Sam." Joe barely managed whisper, tears filling his eyes.

He heard a footstep behind him and turned to see Joleena staring wide eyed and shaking.

"Joleena, I'm so sorry." Joe tried to hug her but was physically repelled by some unseen force.

He then looked down and saw that starting form her feet glowing symbols were spreading across the floor. The symbols then formed a circle around them and everything began to shake. The soldiers' flashlights then went out completely casting them in almost total darkness aside from the glowing symbols.

"Joleena." Joe tried calling out her name but when her eyes began to glow he knew that something was definitely wrong. "Joleena!"

* * *

><p>The last thing Sam remembered was knowing that they couldn't fall asleep or they would die. But he knew they couldn't last forever. So Sam held San-Li as tight as he possible could and tried to keep her awake as long as possible. Her fever kept rising and Sam could tell she was fading fast.<p>

"Sam." She whispered hoarsely. "No matter how I might act I want you to know something."

"I know, I know," Sam tried to force a laugh but instead it come out a sob. "You think that I'm a total, complete, and helpless nerd."

San-Li shook her head weakly. "I- I love you."

Tears now flowed freely from his eyes. "I love you too."

And now for some odd reason the entire floor was shaking and he was surrounded some weird glowing things. He wanted to tell them to stop because they were making him nauseous but for some reason he couldn't move. Everything faded away again.


	20. Chapter 19

For the second time Sam groaned as he opened his eyes. Every part of his body felt stiff and his shoulder was throbbing, but it was nowhere near as painful as before. He was laying in what felt like a hospital bed in a small, white walled room.

"This is getting ridiculous." he sighed running his fingers through his hair.

"What is?"

Sam jumped when he realized that someone was in the room with him. Fina's eyes were a little red and there were a few bags under her eyes, but she didn't seem sad or anything. She cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"What's ridiculous?" She asked again.

"Ugh." Sam sat up and looked for his glasses. "It's ridiculous that I can't remember what happened in the past...how long has it been?"

"A few weeks I think," Fina said. "Let's see...you and San-Li..."

"SAN-LI!" Sam shot out of the bed and grabbed Fina by the shoulders. "Where is she!? Is she okay?"

"Sam, Sam," Fina pleaded wide eyed. "Calm down! She's fine and in the next room."

Sam heart still didn't slow down though and he shook his head. "I need to see her. I _have_ to see her."

Fina nodded. "She's in the next room."

It turned out that the castle had a series of private infirmaries that reminded Sam of a hospital. Fina knocked on the next door and was let in by a maid. Sam's breath caught in his throat. San-Li was laying in the bed asleep and was almost completely still. Fina put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Double pneumonia and hypothermia." she said. "If you hadn't have kept her warm for as long as you did she would have died."

Sam blinked away the tears forming in his eyes and sighed in relief. He walked up to San-Li's sleeping form and brushed some of the hair out her eyes. She groaned, but didn't open her eyes. Feeling suddenly exhausted, Sam all but collapsed into a chair.

He turned to Fina with weary eyes.

"So what happened?" He asked. "How did we get out."

Fina bit her lip and played with her braid. "I don't know really. Joe had went with Joleena and two soldiers to try and find you two and then there was an explosion and a flash of light. The next thing I knew everyone was saying that the queen and her party disappeared and that we were all to head back immediately. I took us weeks to get here but the guards say that the six of you had appeared out of nowhere the same day you disappeared."

Sam's jaw dropped. What Fina described sounded a lot like instant teleportation and he knew that only someone or something with incredible power could do that.

Just then the door opened and a maid showed Joe inside. Joe smiled broadly when he saw him and rushed over to crush him in a hug.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" He said gleefully. "We almost thought you weren't going to pull through!"

"Yeah, me neither," Sam pulled away and looked at Joe seriously. "Did Joleena..."

"Dude! You totally missed it!" Joe grinned broadly. "Her highness went all super nova and transported us out of the caves and directly to Syrania in less than 3 seconds flat!"

"That's what I was afraid of." Sam mumbled under his breath.

Joe frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but just then San-Li groaned and began to move. In less than a split second Sam forgot about Joe and went directly to San-Li's side. Fina smiled and gently grabbed Joe's arm.

"Come on," She said pulling him out of the room. "Let's give them some privacy."


	21. Chapter 20

Fina closed the door softly, turned on her heel, and walked quickly away from Joe without another word. Joe sighed and followed her.

"Come on, you have to talk to me sometime." he said.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be a wedding waiting for me when we got back." she said tightly.

"No, I said there won't be a _surprise_ wedding waiting for you when we got home." Joe tried to make the situation light. When she didn't respond though he sighed and moved in front of her grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Listen," Joe tilted Fina's face up towards his. "I know this is scary as hell for you, but I promise it'll be okay. I mean, you don't want to marry Weister do you?"

Fina's hard look softened and shook her head sadly. Joe smiled and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"I promise," he said. "Being married to me won't be completely terrible."

* * *

><p>San-Li felt something soft graze her forehead opened her eyes. To no surprise Sam was hovering over her and was smiling warmly at her.<p>

"Hey," he whispered and she saw tears in his eyes. "How you feeling?"

"Hung over." she mumbled and struggled to sit up. "How'd we get out?"

"Joleena found us and used her power." Sam said starting caressing her face. "Mass teleportation I think."

"Well that was dumb." She yawned and closing her eyes. "How is she?"

Sam stopped and then started again. "I'm not sure. I forgot to ask."

"Heh, that's hard to believe." She mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"Mistress San-Li? Master Sam?" A nurse opened the door and peered inside. "There's someone here to see you."

Alex ran from behind the nurse and practically leaped into San-Li's arms sobbing loudly.

"I-I th-thought you were d-d-dead!" he cried.

"Shh Shh." San-Li patted his back gently. "It's okay lil' bro. I ain't going nowhere."

"And neither am I." Sam said rubbing the top of his head.

Alex sniffled and snuggled closer to his sister. Sam sighed and stood up wanting to give them some space.

"Where are my clothes?" Sam asked the nurse as he headed out the door.

"I can send a maid to fetch you some, sir" the nurse bowed. "But I know the doctor thinks that you should stay in bed for a least two more days."

"I'm fine." Sam waved her away. "Just send my clothes please."

After Sam dressed he headed straight for Joleena's private receiving chambers. Before he went in though he heard voices inside.

"_Are you sure you're alright?"_

"_I told you already, I'm fine."_

"_I told you Fina she said she was fine."_

"_Joe's right, I'm just a little tired."_

Sam hesitated a second and then knocked four times fast and two times slow. The voices stopped for a second and then Joleena's rang out. "Come in!"

Sam opened the door and saw Joleena sitting on the couch with Joe and Fina sitting across from her. Joleena looked okay, but Sam could tell by the way her eyes flickered towards his that she was feeling tired and uncomfortable. But she turned towards Joe and Fina and smiled.

"Would you guys mind giving us a minute?" she asked.

Joe said yes instantly but Fina fidgeted.

"Are you sure?" Fina said quietly.

Joleena met her intent gaze. "Yes. I'm sure."

Joe stood up and began to leave, but Fina still hesitated. Joleena fixed her with a look, but then averted her gaze. Fina sighed sadly and then got up to leave with Joe. After they left Joleena then nodded to two of the maids and they too left the room. As soon as the room was clear Sam crossed the room and sat next to Joleena on the couch, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm so tired." She whispered faintly leaning into his shoulder.

"I know." Sam kissed the top of her head. "Why did you do it? You know what happens if you try to use your powers like that."

Joleena chuckled weakly. "What was I supposed to do? Let the two people that I care the most about die?"

Sam felt something unexpectedly jump inside his chest.

"Am I really that important to you?" The question burst out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

Joleena looked up at him with small smile and a raised eyebrow. "Of course you are. You're one of the best friends I have."

Sam smiled and held her closer. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

Joleena's shoulders stiffened and she frowned. Sam sighed and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I'll tell everyone that you're studying some diplomatic texts." he promised.

Joleena's frown disappeared and she relaxed against him again. "I'll try."

* * *

><p>Behind the couch in the queen's private receiving chambers a shadow shifted slightly. It watched the two on the couch, listening to their words, their heartbeats, and their emotions. It waited for the queen to fall asleep before quietly moving away. The dark haired one looked up suddenly as if he sensed something, but the shadow knew that it wasn't possible. When he relaxed against the queen again the shadow silently slipped out of the room to report to its master.<p> 


	22. Chapter 21

Sam tucked Alex into bed and turned on his night light.

"Do I have to sleep in my own room tonight?" Alex pleaded.

San-Li sighed but it was Sam who answered. "Yes, you do."

It had been four nights since Sam and San-Li were released from the infirmary and Alex had been sleeping with them for the past three nights.

"You'll be fine," Sam smiled at him. "Your sister and I are right across the hall from you."

Alex sighed and layed back on his pillows and Sam got up to leave. As he reached out to San-Li though, she sidestepped him and sat on Alex's bed.

"You go ahead." She said without looking at him. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Oh." Sam blinked. "Okay."

Back in their room, Sam leaned his back against the closed door and exhaled nervously. Ever since they had gotten out of the infirmary San-Li seemed to be avoiding being alone with him. Every time he tried to kiss her, hold her, or even tell her he loved her San-Li would make some excuse, any excuse to stay away from him. Sam just figured that she was just nervous after telling Sam that she loved him. Maybe she had realized the same thing that he had known for a while; that there were some things that happened when two people loved each other. He paced for a while and then got into the shower, unsure of why his heart was racing. When he finished dressing though, he noticed that San-Li still hadn't come back to the room. He figured that she was probably still trying to comfort Alex, but when he went into the kitchen for some water, he thought he heard what sounded like a sniffle coming from the couch.

"San-Li?" He asked. "Wha- Why are you laying on the couch? Why don't you come to bed?"

San-Li didn't answer him at all. As a matter of fact she barely looked at him as she sat and leaned her head against the opposite arm rest.

"San-Li?" Sam was confused.

He sat next to her and tried brushing her hair out of her face, but when she angrily smacked his hand away, Sam suddenly realized that over the past few days he was reading her completely wrong. Strangely though, instead of feeling afraid or nervous, Sam started to feel angry.

"Why do you always do this to me!?" Sam said angrily in frustration. "Why can't you, for once, act like an adult and tell me what's wrong?"

When San-Li still didn't respond, Sam roughly grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. He was met with an angry, heated glare, but again, instead of actually responding to him, San-Li stood up and made her way towards the door.

"DAMMIT SAN-LI, DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Sam yelled surprised at the volume of his own voice.

It was enough to make San-Li stop with her hand on the door knob. As her shoulders began to shake Sam realized that she was crying. He felt guilty, angry, and shocked all at once.

He sighed and beckoned to sit with him on the couch. "Talk to me, please."

For a minute San-Li didn't move, but then slowly she did what Sam said. He cupped her face and he was surprised to find her cheeks were covered with tears. He turned her face towards his and leaned his forehead against hers. For the first time in four days San-Li spoke to him.

"Don't," San-Li pulled away from him. "Stop pretending that you love me. I already know about you and the queen."

Sam's jaw dropped and San-Li laughed bitterly. "Hey, I get it. Joleena's beautiful, smart, sophisticated, and the queen! No wonder why you're still in love with her."

"No, I- I mean, I'm not in love with Joleena." Sam stuttered, completely stunned. "She's the queen and I'm married to you remember?"

"But why did you marry me?" San-Li said finally looking Sam in the eyes. "I was practically a stranger to you. Why would you agree to marrying me?"

"Because..." Sam was ready to lie, ready to claim that he always loved her from a distance and didn't think that he would have a chance with her otherwise. But when he looked into her eyes and saw only pain and hurt, and that her first husband probably told her the same set of lies.

Sam sighed and grabbed her hands. "I agreed because I was in love with Joleena and she really wanted me to marry you."

San-Li pulled her hands away from his and buried her face in her hands.

"But that was more than a year ago." Sam pleaded with her feeling his own heart break. "I fell in love with you. I'm still in love with you!"

"But you're in love with her too!"

"I'm not!" Sam grabbed her by the shoulders. "I swear to you, I'm not still in love with Joleena!"

When San-Li still continued to sob Sam stood up and rushed back to their room. When he came back in he was holding a heavy steel box with a large lock on it. He quickly unlocked it and opened the box to show San-Li the contents. Inside was a small, dull gray knobby object, that looked like it was made of some kind of metal. Sam sighed and pulled it out.

"Do you know what this is?" He whispered.

"Zhenlianite?" She whispered in awe. "Where- how did you get this?"

"Joleena sent me to get it." he said. "As you know, it forces whoever it touches to tell the truth and only the truth. Joleena wanted me to get this so that she could tell if any of the council members were lying to her."

"Now," Sam took out the metal and held it in his hands. "Ask me if I'm still in love with Joleena."

San-Li hesitated, but then finally looked at him. "Are you in love with Joleena?"

Sam winced as the stone reacted. Glowing blue lines ran from the rocks and up his arms finally entering his eyes tinting them blue momentarily.

"No." He answered. "I am not in love with Joleena."

"Were you ever in love with Joleena?"

"Yes. Ever since high school."

"When you married me were you still in love with her?"

"Yes." Sam's face twisted and San-Li could see his shame and guilt.

"Are you still in love with her?"

"No." Sam's face became serious. "I'm in love with you. I want to be with you."

San-Li turned away and Sam couldn't tell what she was thinking about. Just as he was about to put the stone away though, she laid a hand on his arm stopping him.

"Wait," she turned to him, her face still serious though no longer sad. "I have one more question."

Instead of asking it out loud, San-Li leaned toward him and whispered it in his ear. Sam felt his face heat up, but he had no choice but to answer.

"Yes," he said blushing. "I thought that since our relationship had, you know, developed so much...I mean since I thought we trusted each other, er, liked each other that..."

San-Li stopped him with a finger on his lips. She smiled, more like a smirk really. She leaned in close to him so that her lips were next to his ear.

"Then what are you waiting for?" She whispered almost seductively.

Sam practically jumped off of the couch in surprise. "R-r-r-really?"

San-Li's smirk grew and she stood in front of him with her arms crossed. "What's the matter? You scared or something?"

Sam chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her. "Yes."

He then actually caught by surprise by picking her up bridal style and carrying them to their room. They both laughed softly with a mixture of happiness, nervousness, and the hope that maybe, just maybe, their relationship might work out after all.


	23. Chapter 22

Fina stood still as a team of seamstresses made the finishing touches on her dress. Her wedding dress. For the wedding that was to take place in a mere few days. Instead of looking at herself in the mirror though, she focused on the reflection of the dresser behind her. She knew that if she saw herself, really saw herself, tears might start streaming down her face. Behind her Joleena and San-Li were chatting about final preparations and about something she didn't catch and quite frankly she didn't care about.

"Well Fina?" Joleena asked suddenly.

"Huh?" She blinked. "W-what?"

"I was asking if you wanted the lilies as center pieces." Joleena said looking at her strangely. "Are you okay?"

"Probably just nerves." San-Li shrugged. "We can give her _The Talk_ later."

"I'm actually kinda tired," Fina added. "Can we stop with the dress fitting?"

"Sure Sweetie." Joleena stood up and clapped her hands. "Alright ladies, thank you."

The seamstresses bowed and left the room. Fina sighed and flopped onto the chair.

"Someone wake me when my wedding's over." She mumbled laying her hand over her eyes.

San-Li sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not this again. You freak out about this every other day, every hour on the hour."

"Yeah Fina," Joleena put in. "Why are you so anxious about your wedding? You do love Joe don't you?"

Fina sighed and sat up. "I- of course I love Joe. This is...just such so much to deal with."

"It's all apart of growing up, Fina." Joleena stood up. "Time for me to make my appearance to my oh-so-loving subjects."

Instead of going to the the receiving room or the sitting room like they usually did, Joleena led them outside where a game of lawn bowling had already started.

"Her royal highness Joleena has arrived!" her herald announced.

It wasn't actually necessary though because as soon as the court spotted Joleena they crowded around her offering their turn in the game and to also ask favors or compliment her appearance. One of the few that San-Li noticed who didn't automatically flock to Joleena side was Sam who instead was laughing with Joe about something. When he saw her, Sam broke away from him and came over to her.

"Hey," he said smiling at her.

"Hey yourself."

There was a slight awkward pause until Joe snuck up behind Sam and bumped him closer to San-Li.

"Dude," he whispered loudly. "Would you just kiss her already? You two are an item now."

Sam chuckled and pushed Joe away playfully. Joe winked at them and walked over to where Fina was.

"Um, what did you tell him?" San-Li asked.

Sam laughed and pulled her closer to him. "Nothing really. He was asking me what marriage was like and I told him that with the right person..."

He paused and caressed her cheek. "It's the most amazing thing in the world."

* * *

><p>Joe had his arms wrapped around Fina's waist as they watched the bowling match. Joleena laughed as a son of a lord earned more points than her in a round and won her hand for a kiss. Joe was just about to whisper something in Fina's ear when a herald rushed over to Joleena to hand her a letter. She held her other hand out to the herald without really paying attention. As she read it though, her smiled faded and her eyes filled with tears.<p>

"Your highness," Joe pulled away from Fina. "What is it?"

"Joe. Sam." Joleena said in a whisper and they immediately rushed over to her.

"Your highness," Joe repeated and grabbed her elbow in order to steady her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's, it's Fred." Tears filled Joleena's eyes. "He's been hurt. Badly."

"What?" Sam barely managed to choke out. "What happened?"

A chair was brought to Joleena and she sank down into it, almost fainting. "The reconnaissance mission. There was an ambush. Almost everyone was killed. Fred may be be near death as we speak."

There was a small gasp and Joe turned just in time to see Fina faint on the grass.


	24. Chapter 23

A shattered rib cage. Both legs broken. A gash so deep in his shoulder blade that his arm was almost separated from the rest of his body. And so many other cuts and wounds that made it hard to tell where he was exactly bleeding from. They had brought Fred in late in the evening and two days later he was still in critical condition. Joleena had organized and held a memorial service for the eight other soldiers who had been killed in the ambush and the two others who died on the way. On the morning of the third day the head physician finally lost his grim look and came to find her in her study.

"The boy will live." he told Joleena. "Though he may not be ready to see any visitors quite yet, he is awake and fully aware of himself."

"Oh thank goodness." Joleena breathed a sigh of relief. "Have you told the Warp Wizard yet?"

"I shall do that now." he bowed and left.

Fina silently put down her sewing and stood up.

"And where do you think you're going?" Joleena asked without looking up from her journal.

"Nowhere."

"Then why don't you sit down?"

"I was just going for a little walk."

Joleena smiled knowingly. "He's not ready for visitors just yet."

Fina blushed and looked away. Joleena sighed and gestured to the seat across from her. Feeling like she was in trouble, Fina sighed and sat down.

"I asked Joe to postpone the wedding." She said without preamble.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't think it was right for us to have a wedding when one of his best friends might die."

"Mm-hm." Joleena laughed disbelievingly. "By the way, I know about your little crush on Fred."

Fina's head jumped up in surprise. She stared at Joleena. "H-how?"

"I've seen the way you look at him." Joleena chuckled. "'And the way he looks at you. But you do realize that its his best friend you're getting married to."

Fina sighed and hung her head. "You've been talking to San-Li haven't you?"

"What about me?" San-Li entered into the room slightly out of breath.

"Well speak of the devil," Joleena eyed her curiously. "And just where were this morning? You missed breakfast."

San-Li turned her head to hide a smile. "Slept in."

"Did you tell Sam that Fred's gonna be okay?" Fina asked.

"He is?" San-Li sighed. "That's good. Sam's been so worried."

* * *

><p>Joe found Sam in the hallway on the way to the infirmary.<p>

"Hey." Joe rushed over to him. "Did you hear? Fred's going to be okay!"

"Really?" Sam sighed in relief and ran his fingers through hair. "Thank goodness. I was just going to check up on him."

They both headed towards the infirmary together in silence when Joe suddenly spoke what was on his mind.

"Fina postponed the wedding." he said. "And...I think I'm glad she did."

"Really?" Sam looked at him strangely. "Why?"

Joe sighed. "I don't know. I- I love her, but I'm starting to think that, you know, she may not want to marry me."

"She's probably just nervous." Sam said after a pause. "She's two years younger than you and your probably her first boyfriend."

"Hey you're right." They stopped in front of Fred's door, but didn't go in yet. "I wish I could have postponed the wedding myself for another year or two, but if I do that then Weister will get his way."

"Just give her some time." Sam opened Fred's door. "If it's meant to be then it'll happen."

Fred was laying in his bed heavily bandaged with both of his legs in casts. An elderly nurse was by his side reading to him while a younger nurse rearranged his pillows. When the nurses spotted Joe and Sam, they bowed and started to leave.

"He's still in a very weakened state." The elderly nurse said a little curtly. "He really shouldn't be receiving visitors right now."

"But," her gaze softened a bit and she turned towards Sam. "For you Viscount Samuel I will allow it."

"Um, thank you." Sam said a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah thanks." Joe mumbled after she left.

"Is it always like that for you?" Sam whispered.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Joe mumbled.

They walked slowly over to Fred's bedside and waited for him to wake up. After a few minutes he groaned and opened his eyes.

"Joe? Sam?" he croaked.

"Yeah its us, dude." Joe whispered tears filling his eyes.

"You really had us worried there." Sam added tears filling his own eyes. "How you feeling?"

"Hungry and in pain." Fred groaned again. "Why the hell are you two so weepy? This is me remember? I'm fine."

The three of them chuckled together like they did when they were kids. Fred wasn't ready to talk about what happened just yet so they spent about an hour or two talking about old times and filling Fred in about what was happening now.

"So," Fred smirked at Sam. "Scale of 1 to 10?"

Sam blushed bright red. "W-w- what!? I'm not playing that game!"

"Oh come on," Fred laughed. "Don't be embarrassed. It's just us guys. You can tell us."

"Fred." Joe shook his head and laughed. "Quit teasing him. You know he's shy about these things."

"Keep laughing Joe." Sam smirked. "He's gonna ask you the same thing after your honeymoon with Fina."

Fred's smile vanished. "Honeymoon? You're...you're marrying Fina?"

"Um, yeah." Joe looked at him strangely. "I thought she said she told you before you left."

"Oh. Um, yeah. Yeah she did tell me." Fred cleared his throat. "You know what? I'm kind of tired now. I think I need some sleep."

"Say no more dude." Joe and Sam stood up.

"Yeah, we'll check up on you tomorrow." Sam added opening the door.

Almost as if she was waiting outside the door the elderly nurse came in when Sam opened the door to leave. She smiled at Sam, gave Joe a curt nod and then closed the door behind her.


	25. Chapter 24

Fred drifted between layers of wakefulness and nightmares. He was back in the jungle again, running for his life. All around him his fellow soldiers became consumed by unseen foes and Fred felt that at any moment the ground was going to sallow him whole. Suddenly he could see a shadow looming over him. He tried running faster but something tripped him and then the thing was on him and there was screaming and yelling and...

Fred woke up gasping for air and then swore when his sudden movement caused a sharp pain in his injured shoulder.

"Are you okay?" an all too familiar voice asked softly.

He looked over and saw Fina sitting in chair by his bedside with a book in her hands.

"Fred," She repeated laying a hand on his arm. "Are you okay? It sounded like you were having a nightmare."

"I, I'm just-" Fred cleared his throat unable to get his thoughts together. "I'm fine. I'm just tired that's all."

Fina smiled at him softly and he felt his heart stutter. He forced himself to look away from her.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

Fina blinked. "I wanted to keep you company."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend." Fina took her hand away from his arm. "Or at least I thought you were."

"I am. I am." Fred groaned and sat up. "I'm sorry, I get cranky when I'm hungry."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Water would be nice."

Fina got up and went to summon a maid. Fred sighed and watched her sadly. _Oh, and by they way,_ he thought bitterly, _Would you mind dumping your fiance, my best friend because I happen to be in love with you too._

* * *

><p>Sam chuckled and gently tried to distangle himself from San-Li's arms.<p>

"Come on, San-Li," he said smiling. "I have to meet Joe in less than an hour. And don't you have to pick Alex from school soon?"

"Hmm, not yet." San-Li mumbled without opening her eyes. "It's too early."

"It's almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon." Sam said.

He temporarily gave in and starting planting little kisses all over her face. When she started to respond to his kisses though he knew that he really had to leave or he probably wouldn't leaving the room for another hour.

"I'm leaving now." He said gently prying her arms off of his neck.

"Ugh, fine." San-Li said mock angry. "Leave your beautiful, loving wife and go hang out with your stupid friend."

Sam smiled at her lovingly and slipped out of bed to get dressed.

"I've been thinking about what you've been telling me," He said.

"About?"

"About Fina have doubts about Joe," he stopped and looked at her. "And about her still having a crush on Fred."

San-Li was silent for a while before answering. "I've talked to Fina, and yes she is having her doubts, but I can't interfere and neither can you."

"So I shouldn't tell my two best friends that they're both in love with the same girl and she can't choose between them?"

"No, you can't." San-Li sighed and ran her fingers through her messy hair. "This something that she's going to have to figure out on her own."

"San-Li, she's marrying one of them!" Sam said in gentle exasperation. "Besides, Joe already suspects that Fina is harboring doubts."

Sam sat on the side of their bed and grabbed her hand. "I just don't want any of them to ruin their lives."

San-Li sighed and leaned against him. "So what are you going to tell Joe?"

"I won't tell him everything," he kissed her forehead. "But I will tell him not to go on with the wedding until he's absolutely sure that she wants it as much as he does."

San-Li rewarded him with a smile. "Okay."

A few minutes later Sam entered the library and waited for Joe to show up. When he did he was 10 minutes late looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Sorry," Joe yawned and sat down. "Just got back from a crazy time warp."

"You look like crap." Sam chuckled.

"Yeah well," Joe shrugged. "Kinda been stressing out lately. Warping and delayed weddings and all that."

"Yeah, about that," Sam started a bit awkwardly. "I've been thinking and I think that you should keep the wedding postponed."

"Really?" Joe chuckled bitterly. "Because I was thinking that I should cancel it altogether."

"Y-you are?" Sam's jaw dropped. "But I thought that you really did love her, just thought that it was too soon."

"I do. I do love her and want to marry her, but she just isn't ready." Joe shrugged. "She probably wouldn't be ready for years if she ever will be ready."

"Oh." Sam looked down at the table. "So what are you going to do?"

"What can I do?" Joe sighed sadly. "When I find her today I'm going to tell her that that wedding is off."

* * *

><p>"So how come you're not wearing your engagement ring?" Fred asked.<p>

Fina's eyes widened in shock. "I- I didn't tell you?"

"No." Fred said calmly. "Joe certainly thought you did. So when's the wedding?"

"We post-poned it." Fina said quietly.

"Why?"

"Joe's best friend was in critical condition. He couldn't very well get married."

"Well I'm better. Why not have the wedding now?"

"BECAUSE I ALMOST LOST YOU, OKAY?" Fina shouted suddenly.

Fred's ironic smile dropped and he looked at her in surprise.

Tears filled Fina's eyes and she sniffled. "When they told me you may die, the only thing I could think about was, was... how I never told you how much I loved you. And that I would never see you again. And I can't marry Joe because all I can think about is being with you and I-"

Fred grabbed the back of neck and crushed her lips to his in a rough kiss. Fina pushed him away softly and when he gave her a confused / embarrassed look she chuckled and traced his lips with her fingers.

"Be careful," She said softly. "You're still injured."

She then put any thought of guilt aside, wrapped her arms around Fred's neck and kissed him. And despite her warnings about his injuries Fred wrapped his arms around her and kissed her even harder.


	26. Chapter 25

Fred laid his arm over his eyes and sighed, hating himself for what he just did. And for what he was about to do. He sent Fina away to get him something to eat and in order to give him time to think. Despite what many people thought Fred wasn't stupid. He knew that he was taking away his best friend's wife-to-be and there was no way that Joe would ever forgive him for that. There was also an even bigger problem. No matter how much he wanted to, he knew he could never give her what she deserved; stability and a family. Even though it was true that Joe was often treated like crud, no one ever denied that he was the Warp Wizard and his job had the security that Fred's lacked. Although he had never been injured this seriously, this wasn't his first time being sent on dangerous missions, and it definitely wasn't going to be his last.

"Joe may leave her for weeks on end," he sighed miserably, "But at least he'll always come home to her. At least he can give her a home to come to."

"I'm back." Fina said brightly when she came back into the room.

She set a tray of food next on the table next to him. "I didn't know what you were in the mood for so I brought you a little bit of everything."

"Thanks," Fred licked his dry lips. "Listen, Fina, we need to talk..."

"I know what you're going to say." Fina interrupted and laid a hand on his cheek. "But don't worry, I'm going to tell Joe that I can't marry him anymore."

Fred laid his hand over hers, hesitated... and then slowly pulled her hand away.

"You, you shouldn't do that." He said in a small voice.

Fina shook her head and her smile faded a little. "Why not?"

"Because, because," Fred swallowed and decided to brace it full force. "Because it would never last between us!"

Fina's gasped and Fred plundered on. He force himself to put on an indifferent smirk and shrugged.

"Look, Fina, what we have between us is nothing more than a little crush and don't get me wrong or anything, it was fun and all, but its not like we had a future together. We're just too different and want different things. Joe is a waaaay better match for you than I am. "

Tears had begun to well up in Fina's eyes and even though it killed Fred to do so he forced himself to continue.

"Look, you want to get married and have kids and start a family, but all I want is to stay a soldier and have fun with my life and not be tied down to some-"

Fina's hard slap across the face stunned him into silence and he stared at her in shock. Tears were streaming down her face and she glared at him in hatred, a look that he had never before seen her make.

"I can't believe," she said in a strained whisper. "that I thought I could ever love a heartless bastard like you."

Without another word Fina turned and ran out of the room. Fred sighed and blinked away his own tears.

"Please be good to her, Joe." He pleaded silently. "Please be good to her."

* * *

><p>Joe trudged slowly down the hallway to him room carrying a full load of books, lost in thought. He hadn't been able to find Fina and no one seemed to know where she was. Joe shook his head. Actually San-Li seemed to know where she was, but didn't seem too eager to tell him.<p>

"Oh, well," Joe sighed opening his door. "I'll find her eventually."

"Hello Joe."

"Fina?" Joe dropped his books in surprise. "Wha- what are you doing here?"

"Well," Fina shrugged and got off his bed. "I wanted to see you, couldn't find you, so I waited for you here. Is that okay?"

"Oh, um, yeah, yeah." Joe sighed. "I wanted to see you too."

"Really?" Fina smiled and stood in front of him.

"Um, yeah," he blinked, confused at her sudden warmness. "Listen, Fina, about the wedding..."

"I can't wait to marry you."

"If you would rather we waited... wait what?"

Fina chuckled and did something unexpected. She wrapped her arms tightly around Joe's neck and kissed him. _Really _kissed him. Kissed him like she had never kissed him before. Joe wrapped his arms around her waist and responded eagerly. When the kiss finally cooled down a bit Fina pulled away a chuckled a bit.

"I'm sorry I've acted like such a child." she whispered. "You're so good and sweet and kind to me and all I've done is pout and act immature."

"No I'm sorry." Joe smiled. "I was so eager to keep you away from Weister that I forgot you were still a child, I mean, still really young."

Fina smiled and grabbed Joe's hand. "Come on, let's go tell Queen Joleena to set a new wedding date for us."

"What's the hurry?" Joe smiled. "You know, we can still wait for a little while if you want to."

Fina smiled at him over her shoulder and continued to drag him down the hall. "Why? Are you getting cold feet?"

Joe stopped and pulled her into his arms. "I'm not if you're not. Tell you what, you go tell Joleena to set the wedding for next week while I catch up on some work. Alright?"

"Whatever you say my lord." Fina said softly and kissed Joe.

Joe watched her leave and felt an enormous weight lift off of his shoulders. Things finally seemed to be going right for once. He didn't want to admit it, but maybe now he was going to be married to the queen's best friend, he would finally get some respect from other magicians.


	27. Chapter 26

Fina sighed and leaned against Joe's shoulder as he drove the carriage back to the palace. It had been a long two days and she was exhausted. Yesterday they had traveled to her parents house to meet with Councilman Derando and her parents so they can discuss her dowry and ended up staying overnight amidst all of her brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And today they had met Joe's sister Anna at a small cafe since his parents and uncle couldn't make it. Fina could still remember the conversation that felt more like an interrogation.

"_So how long have you actually known my brother?" Anna asked a bit skeptically. _

"_Well, um," Fina twisted her hands nervously. "Almost a year or so I guess."_

"_Just a year?"_

"_Well, um, y-yeah." _

"_And you're already getting married?"_

_Joe rolled his eyes and waved his hands in dismissively. "Anna please, people know each other for four months and get married."_

_Anna rolled her eyes and turned back to Fina. "Isn't true that you're the queen's best friend?"_

"_Um, yeah." Fina blinked confused at the change in questioning. "We practically grew up together."_

"_So I guess you're in pretty high standing in Syrania, huh?"_

"_Um, I guess so. I never really think about it that way."_

_Anna shot a suspicious look at Joe. "Have you?"_

_Joe slammed his fist down on the table and glared angrily at his sister. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Hey, I'm just saying." Anna held up her hands defensively. "Fina's a pretty, high class girl and you're...you. I just hope you realize that you might effect her status."_

Fina was just about dozing off when she heard Joe give an angry sigh and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Sorry about my sister," he mumbled. "She's-ugh."

Fina looked up at Joe and smiled. The sun was setting and the strong orange light made it hard to see his face clearly, but she could still make out his jaw line and his mouth. Usually he was always smiling and laughing, but now his lips were drawn together in a tight line. She slowly reached up gently touched his lips with her finger tips. When she felt him smile she laughed and leaned back against him.

After a few more minutes of driving the carriage they finally went through the palace gates and Joe handed the reigns to a stable head and lifted Fina down. He held her tightly to him kissed her hair.

"Two days," he whispered.

"And then we'll be married." Fina added. "And then we can start a family all our own."

* * *

><p>"Why in the world would you want a family so soon?" San-Li said in annoyance. "Your not even seventeen yet."<p>

She and Fina were sitting in Joleena's sitting room waiting for her finish meeting with the ambassadors from Ghiaccio. Joleena was basically giving them the third degree about what happened over there while they begged her to reopen the treaty.

"I've always wanted to have kids." Fina said patiently. "And why not have kids right right away? My mother had my sister when she was eighteen. Besides, I bet Joe would make a great father."

"Whatever." San-Li rolled her eyes. "I still think that you should wait before trying to start a family."

"What about you?" Fina said sweetly.

"What about me?" San-Li growled.

"Well I noticed that you and Sam are acting more like a couple lately and I was wondering," here Fina blushed a giggled a bit. "I was wondering if you might be expecting any...news?"

San-Li shot Fina an angry glare and looked down again. "No."

"But I thought-"

"I said no."

Fina sighed and gave San-Li a knowing look. "Fighting again?"

San-Li sighed and waited for some nosy ladies-in-waiting to pass by. She then mumbled under her breath. "He wants to have another wedding."

"Oh, wow." Fina rolled her eyes. "No wonder why your mad at him. How dare he want to marry you again."

"Its for his mom." San-Li mumbled impatiently. "He wants to marry me again with his mom present so he can bring me home with him _respectfully_."

She said that last word with the sneer as if that was the worst thing that Sam could say to her. Fina sighed and shook her head in confusion. She could never understand why San-Li and Sam had so many problems with each other. Sure their personalities might have been different, but it seemed like to Fina Sam only treated San-Li with the utmost care and respect and...

"Does he think I'm trashy or something?" San-Li mumbled under her breath. "Does he think that the only way that I can be part of his family is if I played a different role?"

Fina was silent a minute before answering. "He's nervous. It is his family after all. Maybe he doesn't know how else to tell them about you."

"Pfft." San-Li waved that away angrily. "If he really loved me he should be able to introduce as is, no questioned asked. And on top of that, he has the nerve to get all angry with me for _not_ jumping at the chance to go through the whole blasted sermony again just so he can feel righteous!"

Several people looked up when San-Li shouted the last part. They immediately started whispering and giggling behind their hands. The whispering only increased when Sam walked into the room. He ignored San-Li, nodded to Fina, and walked into the room where Joleena and the ambassadors were. The cold, hard voice of Joleena was heard for just a moment before Sam closed the door behind him.

San-Li pressed her lips together both in embarrassment and anger. It was bad enough that they were fighting, but to embarrass her in front of everyone... Suddenly she shut her eyes as a wave of pure sadness and rage swept over her.

"Hey," Fina's voice came softly. "Are you okay?"

San-Li stood up without answering and left the room.


	28. Chapter 27

San-Li emptied her stomach for the second time this week. The first time was after Sam embarrassed her by ignoring her in front everyone and today it was after she saw... the abominations. When she came back into the private sitting room where Joleena and Fina were waiting, Joleena sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on," she gestured towards the two maids holding dresses. "They aren't that bad!"

"They're hideous." San-Li scowled. "I bet barbie wouldn't even wear one. Come on Joleena, pink lace frills?"

"You should see the other bridesmaid dresses." Fina giggled. "They have pink and blue ribbons too."

"No one looks better than the bride." Joleena put in smugly then sighed. "I still can believe that you're getting married tomorrow."

"But that's tomorrow," San-Li smirked. "Now what we really need to focus on is her bachelorette party tonight."

"I second that motion," Joleena turned towards the maids. "You can go now ladies."

After they left Joleena's voice took on a conspirator tone. "Now, I've made some preparations and if we leave by mid-afternoon we can sneak out of the palace and make there and back before midnight."

San-Li laughed and leaned forward eagerly. "I already made all the preparations and secured some American dollars and credit cards for us."

"American dollars?" Fina sighed and gasped. "No! You don't mean-"

"Yes!" Joleena cried excitedly. "We're taking you to New York City!"

* * *

><p>Fina shrieked as a another car speed by, honking its horn loudly. She clung to San-Li in fear who laughed and pushed her away.<p>

"How many times do I have to tell you to look before stepping to the street like that?"

"But it looked so far away at first!"

"I still can't believe that it's your first time out of Syrania." Joleena laughed along with San-Li. "Now come on, let's hit this store next."

Fina merely smiled and meekly followed her too best friends. As she watched them shop she noticed how different and yet how very much the same they were outside of Syrania. Instead of loose flowing pants and a flowing kimono style, flowing robe, San-Li wore super tight jeans, leather boots, and a black halter top. And yet she still had on that ever present smirk and laughed at every guy who tried to flirt with her. And instead of an ornate dress, Joleena had on a mini skirt, wedged sandals, and a flowery mid-drift. And yet she was still had that royal presence and winked at every guy who gawked at her. However, even though her two best friends chose to dress the part of American teenagers, Fina chose to stick with a simple blue dress and felt really out of place.

"Um," Fina starting blushing when she found herself staring at a mannequin scandalously clad in black leather and lace. "What store is this again?"

"Oh, Victoria Secret." Joleena said feigning innocence. "Now try this on."

"T-this?" Fina stared at the short, black silk night gown the Joleena handed her.

"She can't wear that, Joleena."

"Thanks San-Li."

"Pink is more her thing."

"What!?"

San-Li grinned and handed her a pink nightie that was even shorter, completely sheer, and had frills along the bottom. Fina tried to protest against either outfit, but Joleena and San-Li grabbed both of her arms and dragged her into a fitting room. When she refused to come out they barged in and forced her to buy the pink one.

"I still can't believe you two made me do that." Fina whined as they ate lunch at a local Apple-bees.

Joleena laughed and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Will you stop being so shy about this? You're getting married tomorrow. Sex is going to become a part of your life, you know."

"I know." Fina blushed and looked down. "My parents gave me the Talk."

"Yeah, but you haven't heard it from us." San-Li said with a wicked smirk.

"Fr- from you guys?" Fina stammered blushing. "I- I don't think that we should be talking like this! Especially out in public!"

"Oh. Relax." Joleena rolled her eyes. "We won't go into details. We just thought that you should know that well, guys... like sex. Some guys like it a lot."

"I know," Fina twisted her hands nervously in her lap. "My sisters always warned me about guys like that. They only want one thing. But Joe isn't like that at all."

"No." San-Li slowly. "But he's still a guy and guys like sex. And games. So it couldn't hurt to be, you know... a little sexy every once in a while. Dress up for him. Be a tease."

Fina groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Shouldn't you be telling me about being a wife? Like, all the time and not just a sex part?"

Almost instantly San-Li's smirk vanished and Fina mentally kicked herself for being so careless.

"I'm sorry." She said meekly. "I forgot you and Sam were fighting again."

"Its fine," San-Li grumbled standing up. "Just forget it."

Joleena let out a long, sad sigh after she left. "Do you think that it was a mistake setting those two up?"

Fina thought for a minute before answering. "No. I think that they're still getting used to each other. In fives years they'd probably be the sweetest couple ever."

"I sure hope so." Joleena was quite for a moment before letting out a small laugh.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just that...well... back in high school I had a major crush on Sam."

Fina's fork froze halfway to her mouth. Joleena was still talking in an almost dreamy manner.

"As a matter of fact the only thing that kept me from telling him how I felt was the fact that I knew we could never be together because I was a queen."

When she caught sight of Fina's shocked face she laughed and shook her head. "Oh don't look like that, it was years ago and I don't feel anywhere near that way now. Besides, Sam is much too loyal and serious a person to take marriage vows lightly, whatever his feelings might have been."

"Oh... okay." Fina said uneasily.

San-Li came back a few moments afterward and there was a slight awkward silence while they finished eating. Afterwards they did a little more shopping and when the sun finally set, that's when they did something that Fina had never heard of called "clubbing". It turned out to be going to a bunch of different places that played music, served drinks, and where the dance floor was packed with people. San-Li and Joleena did most of the dancing and more than a little flirting. Fina only danced when they danced with her. Even in a simple blue dress and what San-Li called a country girl look, guys still surrounded her constantly.

It wasn't until almost 1 am when Fina finally convinced the others to leave. After all, she was supposed to be married at noon the next day. She practically had to drag them out of the club they were in and forced Joleena to take them home. Fina only hoped Joe was having a better time than she was.

* * *

><p>Joe laughed as they dragged themselves in a drunken stupor through the palace doors trying to be quiet. It took two page boys to help Fred through the doors with his crutches. At first Sam protested that they shouldn't even go because of Fred's injuries, but when he threatened to give Sam a wedgie <em>and <em>an Indian burn Sam laughingly agreed. So they spent the entire day in Brooklyn visiting all of their old haunts and a ton of clubs. It was then that Joe noticed something strange. Even though it was clear that Sam and San-Li were fighting again, he noticed that Sam still never really flirted with the woman who tried to flirt with him and he even caught him sighing and looking at his wedding ring. And while Joe would never call Fred a conservative partyer, Joe saw him drink more than he had even seen him drink in his life.

Fred let out a loud yet muffled laugh as he crashed into a suit of armor dragging one of the page boys down with him.

"Shhhh." Joe and Fred laughed at the same time.

"Guys," Sam said in a worried voice. "Its 2 am. Everyone's asleep by now."

"Oh it's my bachelor party." Joe laughed dismissively. "We can make all the noise we want."

"Well, enjoy the partying while you can," Fred laughed struggling to get up. "Cause once you're married all this goes out the window."

"Well that sucks," Joe slurred. "Cause partyingis fin."

Fred laughed even harder while Sam rolled his eyes. They stumbled around the palace while Sam, being the only sober one, tried to lead them back into their rooms.

"You know, I wouldn't mind it if Fina was a party girl." Joe slurred. "Bet she could be reallysexxy."

Fred shot him a dark look and Joe laughed uneasily.

"Sorry bro," he said. "Forgot she was like a little sister to you."

"Yeah, little sister." Fred growled under his breath.

"Well, here's the infirmary." Sam said quickly, handing Fred over to the nurse waiting patiently at his door.

"I heard the racket all the way up here." she said frowning. "He should have been back 2 hours ago."

"Sorry," Sam bowed respectfully while Joe gave her a mock salute. "We did stay out later than we intended."

"Oh don't mind my babysitter," Fred slurred. "She thinks she's my grandmother sometimes."

The nurse laughed good naturedly and ushered him inside. Joe and Sam continued down the hall in silence. When they finally reached his room, Joe let out a weary sigh.

"Do you think that I'm after I get married, we'll never be able to hang out like this again?" Joe asked sadly.

"Well," Sam said carefully. "Things might change for you, but we're all still pretty young. I'm sure it won't be too much different."

"Fred sure seems to think so." He mumbled. "He really hates the idea of marriage."

"Well that's Fred for you. There," Sam finally got his door open. "Now get some sleep your wedding is in less than twelve hours."

"Yeah, yeah." Joe mumbled. "But Sam,"

"Yeah?"

"I know you two are fighting but," Joe licked his lips nervously. "But are you and San-Li happy? Really happy?"

Sam sighed and played with his wedding ring a minute before answering. "Most of the time. Sure."

"Most of the time?"

"We fight a lot, but that's because we're really different."

"But do you two have fun?"

This time Sam smiled without hesitation. "She drives me absolutely crazy."

Joe gave a sigh of relief. Even though Sam and San-Li had a tendency to fight a lot, he hoped that he and Fina would share the same kind of passion that they have.


	29. Chapter 28

Everything happened in a dreamlike quality. The maid pinned and folded her wedding dress around her, curled and brushed her hair, and even put light touches of makeup on her face. Joe's mother, her mother, and aunts came to sit with her and although at first awkward with each other, they were still really friendly. San-Li and Joleena came in right before the ceremony and gave her one more encouraging talk and then it was time. The music started to swell and slowly everyone started to file out into the sanctuary of the chapel. Then, all too soon and with a gentle nudge from an elderly maid, Fina was taking slow halting steps down the alter.

_Step, step, pause, and smile. Step, step, pau__se, and smile. _Fina repeated to herself over and over again. She had butterflies in her stomach, but when she saw Joe at the alter waiting for her looking just as nervous as she was, her heart leapt for him. He gave her a shaky smile when she finally reached him and she felt herself smile in return. They then both turned towards the minister who gave a long and lengthy speech about the God bringing them together and how love was the strongest bond in the world. She and Joe then took turns repeating their vows and then came the part that Fina didn't even realize she had been waiting for.

"Now if there is any reason for these two to not be united in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

There was a short silence that seemed to last for an eternity as Fina waited. She wasn't even aware that she was holding her breath until the priest announced her and Joe, man and wife. When Joe lifted her veil and pressed their lips together she told herself that the tears she was holding back were tears of joy.

* * *

><p>"Thank you," Fina said to the two elderly maids who escorted her to her new bedroom. After the reception she bathed, had her hair brushed loosely around her, and put on a pure white nightgown.<p>

She now had an apartment that she would share with Joe until they decided to get their own house. They had a receiving room, a private sitting room, a large bedroom, and a small study where Joe could work on his spells in safety and privacy. As she waited for him, Fina looked around the bedroom nervously. There was a small fire burning in the hearth and a low table held a pitcher of wine, a pitcher of water, and a platter of bread, cheese and fruit.

Fina sat down on one of the cushions and popped two of the grapes into her mouth in an attempt to quell her stomach. She was just about to doze off when she heard the door quietly open and close.

"Hey," Joe smiled softly. "Have you been waiting long?"

"N-no." Fina stammered feeling her heart in her throat.

Joe chuckled softly and slowly walked over to where she was sitting. As he poured himself a cup of wine she noticed that like her he was also wearing all white clothing. She didn't dare to wonder if that meant the same thing for him as it did for her.

"Are you nervous?" Joe asked quietly.

"Um," Fina looked down at the table. "A little."

"Here," He handed her a cup of wine. "This will help you relax a little."

"I don't drink."

"A little won't hurt you." Joe insisted pressing into her hands.

Fina made a grimace and took a tentative sip. When she started coughing, Joe burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Joe laughed when she gave him an angry look. "But you are just too adorable."

Fina didn't think that her choking was in the least bit adorable, but Joe's laugh was contagious and she found herself laughing too. They sat in comfortable silence for a little while after that and then Joe leaned forward and grabbed her hand. He gently pulled her onto her feet and pulled her into his arms. He gently tilted her face towards kiss and trailed his lips down the bridge of her nose to finally rest on her lips. When he broke the kiss and gently started to lead her to the bed she hesitated.

"Come on," he whispered softly. "You don't have to be afraid."

Fina smiled and gripped his hand. "Then I won't be."

When he laid her on the bed and gently slipped off her gown, Fina closed her eyes and pictured the field of flowers that grew around her house and the gentle river that flowed past.

* * *

><p>San-Li sat up in bed and waited for Sam to come in. She had left the reception early to put Alex to bed and instead of returning, she stayed in her room with the door closed. She took a shaky breath when she heard Sam open and close Alex's door and then slowly open theirs. Sam froze with a look of surprise on his face when he saw her, probably because he wasn't expecting her to still be awake. After he got over his initial shock though, Sam heaved a weary sigh.<p>

"We need to talk." They said at the exact same time.

Sam blinked and then shook his head. "Look, I get that you don't want to go through another wedding ceremony, but you never listened to why I wanted to have another one."

"Sam-"

"No, wait and hear me out San-Li. You never took the time to understand how I felt."

"Sam, I-"

"Please stop interrupting me and let me finish. My mom and I were really close and I can't let her find out that I married without even introducing her to the girl."

"Sam, I'm pregnant."

"Not to mention that no one in my family knows, and they would want to know- wait, WHAT?"

Sam stopped mid-rant and stared at San-Li in shock. She took a deep breath and without any trace of happiness in her voice or her face told him what she had been suspecting and dreading since she missed her period last month.

"Sam," she looked into his utterly shocked face.

"I'm pregnant."


End file.
